Trust
by chickypeg
Summary: She didn't trust him and he didn't love her. But they were married. Sasuke/Sakura, may have other couples. Rated 'M' just in case.
1. Truth and Lie

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

**A/N: Inspired from Naruto Chapter 635, so it will contain spoilers if you haven't read it yet.**

* * *

**TRUST**

_**Chapter 1: Truth and Lie**_

* * *

"I'll be home tomorrow evening," he informed her quietly as he shrugged on his ANBU gear before heading out for his mission.

Under the silhouette of the full moon, he seemed like some sort of dangerous villain.

The tall, dark handsome sort.

Sakura paused before smiling.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Sasuke-kun."

He frowned his handsome mouth at his pink haired wife.

Sakura blinked her green eyes and gave him a look of concern. "Sasuke-kun?"

He sighed before placing a hand on top of her head.

"I promise you I'll be back."

Sakura's smile became uncomfortable at his strange words. "I trust you, Sasuke-kun."

_Liar_.

* * *

"Your fake smile makes you even uglier, Ugly," Sai remarked as he dug into his bowl of ramen.

Beside him, Sakura calmly indulged in her own bowl of yummy food while saying, "Call me Ugly again and you'll be eating that bowl and not the food, Sai," she threatened.

Sai paused.

Ah, perhaps he better watch his mouth today. _Ugly_ might rear her gruesome head of rage today since her temper seemed to be more volatile.

She released a heavy breath before explaining, "What else am I supposed to do?"

"Be honest."

"What do _you_ know about honesty?"

"Honesty is defined as being truthful and fair."

Sakura rolled her eyes at his definition. No doubt he had been into Konoha's vast library again, learning all sorts of strange things about people's behavior.

"I am truthful, _all the time_," Sakura insisted.

"But not with Sasuke-kun or yourself. You don't trust him."

Sakura scowled before shoving some noodles into her mouth.

"Of course I trust him."

"Now you're not being honest."

Sakura glared at Sai. He wasn't deliberately heckling her. What he was saying was the absolute truth and that was what made her all the more pissed off.

* * *

She was dreaming of _him_.

His eyes were bleeding and his body was bruised. He was scarred, he was dangerous and he reeked of madness.

He lifted an arm that gathered lightning around it.

He was going to kill her.

He was going to destroy her.

"Sakura!"

* * *

Her eyes flew open and were greeted by the sight of her husband's handsome face. There was a smear of mud on his cheek, and his hair was slightly disarrayed. He must have just come home.

Sakura shrugged off his hands that were on her arms.

Hastily, she got out of bed.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. You're home!"

He watched her silently before responding quietly, "Didn't I say I was coming back today?"

"Yes, that's true! Do you need to be healed? Are you alright, I can-"

"I'm fine," he replied sharply.

Sakura was stunned by his tone, but he didn't seem to care for he headed to the bathroom to shower.

She lowered her eyes sadly. He knew she was being fake just now, and that had pissed him off.

Sasuke was too intelligent a man to not know how she truly felt.

It was a _mistake_.

Their marriage was a mistake.

Because she didn't trust him and he didn't love her.

* * *

_A/N: Not sure where I'm going with this, but let me know if you like it. _


	2. So Why?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

_**Chapter 2: So Why?**_

* * *

So why get married?

It was pretty stupid to get married to someone you didn't trust.

And it was pretty stupid to get married to someone you didn't love.

Sakura blamed herself.

Sasuke never forced her to marry him. And given all the hell he had been through, he probably had a warped view on things like 'love'.

For him, the truest taste of love he had was from his big brother Itachi, which was sibling love. Love between a man and a woman was something that was probably far from his mind.

At least that was Sakura believed.

But she was also different from him.

Both her parents were alive. They weren't perfect as they could be suffocating and annoying at times, but they loved her.

They loved each other.

Sakura's life had been _normal_.

It was normal to have a crush. It was normal to fall in love.

It was _normal_.

_Disgustingly_ normal.

And what that knowledge, she knew how things were supposed to be when you get married: love shouldn't be one-sided; trust was important.

And that was hers and Sasuke's dilemma: he trusted her, but he didn't love her. She loved him, but she didn't trust him.

"Sakura, come on," Tsunnade's voice broke into her thoughts.

Sakura looked up and blinked in surprise. She was sitting at her desk where she was dealing with some medical reports.

Apparently, she had been staring blankly at the same page for the last twenty minutes or so.

"Come where?" Sakura asked.

Tsuade released a heavy sigh. "We need to talk Sakura."

This made the pink haired girl uneasy.

Talk?

Talk about what?

Was it work-related? She was doing a pretty good job lately, wasn't she?

"You've been perfect for the last two months," the older woman soothed her, as if reading her mind. "I just want to chat with you. You know, have a little '_girl-talk_'."

With that, the former Hokage left the room.

Sakura cocked an eyebrow.

_Girl-talk?_

* * *

"You're not happy," Tsunade stated.

Sakura remained silent. They were at a park where little children were running around and playing. Many of them were under five years old. They were adorable and cute and made Sakura's green eyes glow with warmth.

"In your age group, you and Sasuke were the last couple to get together, and the first to get married," Tsunade went on.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and thought back on the past. It had been three years since the war had ended.

Both herself and Sasuke had gotten married only three months ago.

And both were barely even twenty years old.

"Things happen, shishou," Sakura said quietly after reopening her eyes.

Just because Sasuke had assisted them during that big fight didn't mean he was easily let off the hook.

His case had to go to Court, and because it was so long with so many details, with so many issues being brought out it had been drawn on for a lengthy amount of time. He had been to prison twice, under home arrest when he wasn't in prison, put on trial several times, before he was finally given his freedom.

The cost was that he would have to do a quarterly psychological evaluation for the next ten years, and depending on whether or not he showed signs of wanting to destroy everything in his path again, it might lead to several more years of the evaluation being done.

Sakura was quite sure that if Naruto hadn't become Hokage, her husband might have stayed longer in prison and under house arrest.

"Is it because when he finally got out, everyone else had already paired up? You and him were the only ones still single. Even Lee finally got over you and Naruto finally noticed Hinata as a woman."

Sakura smiled at the thoughts of her comrades who had finally found love elsewhere.

How ironic that those two had been obsessed with her, while she had been obsessed with someone else.

And in the same way that she didn't return their affections, _he_ didn't return hers.

"It wasn't like I didn't have offers...or him."

Tsunade let out a heavy breath. "Sakura, I know I'm getting personal, but I can't ignore the way you look. You work your fingers to the bone and you smile even when you're half-dead. Everything seems perfect on the outside, but I have a feeling it isn't. You act this way to hide up the fact that you're really unhappy."

The words struck home. Every bit of it was truth. Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger. After all, most people didn't like like the truth because it revealed things about themselves they didn't like.

"Shishou-"

"Sakura," her teacher said her name in a very simple tone, which made the girls ire melt away. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She should just tell someone before she went mad.

"I was selfish," she admitted.

"Selfish?" Tsunade repeated in surprise.

Sakura nodded as she watched two toddlers chase a red ball. One of them fell down, but didn't cry. Instead, she stood up, grinned and picked up the ball to run away with.

"I didn't trust him, but I didn't want anyone else to have him."

Tsunnade was quiet for a long moment. She could yell and berate her student all she wanted for making a dumb choice, but the older woman knew what it was like to be in love.

The heart and the brain just wasn't in sync.

Besides, it would just be cruel to shout at the young girl right now. That was like kicking a person when he/she was already down.

"Want to tell me more?" the former Hokage coaxed.

Well, why not? It didn't make much sense to keep quiet about it anymore anyway.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Start with how you two got together."

* * *

Like Tsunnade had said, everyone had already paired up from their age group.

Sakura hadn't any expectations from Sasuke.

Sure, she was his friend, his comrade, as Naruto was. She had supported him during the trials, visited when he was under home arrest...but, as a _friend_.

Nothing more than that.

"One day, he asked me to spar with him. For a moment, I nearly refused," she whispered and shut her eyes. The only fear came back. "Because I didn't feel important enough to him for him to want to spend time with me alone."

"Then why do you think he asked you?" Tsunnade asked.

Sakura shrugged.

"I thought he was bored. I mean, I can't compare to him or Naruto. Even if I could put up a fight against Sasuke, I'd only last long enough to find a way to escape him."

"Did you think he might kill you if he tried when you sparred together?" Tsunnade asked softly.

Sakura was surprised. She glanced a her teacher with her wide green eyes. Then, she lowered her head, as if ashamed.

"Maybe," she admitted quietly.

Her heart had frozen at his invitation. Her breath had stilled. Her eyes must have widened visibly. Maybe he had thought it was surprise.

Sure, it was surprise.

And fear.

Perhaps a foolish sort of fear.

But sound of his chirping chidori was all to real in her mind, from he tried to kill her that time.

In a different time, she might have been excited. That wasn't the case anymore it seemed.

"But I knew I couldn't be like this. Sasuke isn't that man anymore. He isn't cold, or cruel and he's no longer and a path of insanity driven by vengeance."

She had summoned up the courage to go with him. But it had rained that day. The grounds would be wet.

"_We can still go, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as they both sheltered under the ramen shop, gazing at the heavy downpour of rain._

_Sasuke was wearing on a green Leaf vest with a black shirt underneath and black trousers. Around his forehead was his headband. He had been issued a new one after being promoted to jounin._

_There was need to dwaddle in forcing him to do Chunnin and Jounin exams when everyone knew his power was almost equal to the Hokage's._

_And the village needed powerful shinobi at the time. The only exam he had been forced to do was the ANBU. In the village, that exam was the most important one which was a measure of every little detail a shinobi had._

_Including his ability to lead a team, be loyal to his village, and to be a trustworthy comrade._

_He had passed with flying colors. _

"_Aren't you afraid of getting dirty?" Sasuke queried. _

_Sakura laughed then. "What's a little mud, Sasuke-kun? I've been through worse!"_

_He was silent for a moment. His black eyes bore her face for such a long time that she lost her happy smile and gave him a curious look. _

"_Sasuke-kun?"_

"_You have, haven't you?" he murmured softly. His tone was almost...**understanding**. _

"_Have what?"_

_He didn't say anything but turned to look at the rain instead. _

"_I'll buy you lunch."_

* * *

"Sounds simple enough to me. He started dating you," Tsunnade said.

Sakura nodded. And she had been stunned, excited as a puppy!

She had tried not to go all crazy and fan girly because she wasn't like that anymore.

But she was so thrilled that he wanted to spend time alone with her.

And relieved that he didn't want to spar again.

When she had realized her thoughts, her spirits had become dampened considerably, which made her uncharacteristically quiet.

If Sasuke noted her unusual behaviour that day, he hadn't commented on it.

"So he took you out again?" Tsunnade queried.

"Yeah. We just ended up spending more time alone because everyone was paired up. Naruto was busy with being the new Hokage, Kakashi-sensei is the type of person who's hard to pin down for lunch. Sai is around sometimes, but he's with Ino now and she tends to...er...take all of his attention."

Tsunnade chuckled.

"Is that a nice way of saying she brainwashes him?"

Sakura laughed. "Well, she's been feeding him romance novels, hoping that he'll turn into a romantic sort of guy."

"I can imagine how _that's_ turning out."

The image of Sai bringing Ino a bunch of red roses while telling her in a very unfeeling tone, 'I love you' was quite funny. Especially since he brought roses to a girl who was working in a flower shop.

"She tried to get him to read Icha Icha Paradise," Sakura told her mentor who grinned.

Then frowned.

"Don't sway from the topic. Tell me about you and Sasuke," the older woman ordered.

Sakura smiled at her strictness. Even if Tsunnade wasn't Hokage anymore, she still retained a lot of her leadership qualities.

"I wasn't disillusioned into thinking Sasuke might fall in love with me...but I did hope."

* * *

His interest in her as more than simply his teammate or friend must have come up slowly, or so she assumed.

There were little things that she realized over the course of a few months.

Sometimes Sasuke stared at her without proper reason, and he wouldn't even realize until she called out his name.

She couldn't say she wasn't hoping that this meant something.

Maybe she should have protected her heart from the start.

But she didn't.

She was young.

And she was still in love with Sasuke Uchiha.

She had a fear of him, a mistrust in him that one day he would abandon them, or turn into an avenger again one day.

Sometimes she had nightmares of his strong hand wrapped around her neck as he lifted her easily with one hand.

With the sound of his chidori wrapping around his fist as he moved to kill her.

And yet, she couldn't find herself not jealous of his fangirls who flocked him.

_His home was in the same direction as hers, so he often walked her there. One day, after dinner together, she told him she had to go to the grocery to get a few things. Although she had told him he could go on without her, he had surprisingly shrugged and informed her that he would come with her._

_Sakura had felt herself blushing at his casual insistence._

_Until they entered the grocery store and a bunch of girls nearly trampled over her to get to him. They were pretty damned annoying._

_Because when Sakura was with Sasuke, she wanted his attention to be on her, and her alone. She didn't want anyone getting in the way. _

She couldn't deny that every small touch of his thrilled her.

_They were sitting at the ramen shop with a bowl of steaming hot, yummy food placed in front of each of them. The little stand with all the chopsticks was set in the middle of their bowls. _

_The pair reached for the eating utensils simultaneously._

_Sakura felt Sasuke's warm fingertips touch her own. She stiffened and flinched back, as if touched by lightning. _

_He paused, frowned, and then pulled out a set. He held it out to her. _

_Almost timidly, she accepted it. _

"_T-Thank you, Sasuke-kun."_

And really and truly, she wished that he would stare at her longer and more often.

_Sakura paused in her eating and noted a pair of beautiful, dark eyes looking at her. She glanced up and almost blushed at his unconscious scrutiny._

"_S-Sasuke-kun?"_

_He blinked those beautiful eyes of his, as if startled out of his thoughts. _

Of course, this was Sasuke.

She couldn't be foolish. She couldn't be full of expectations.

And she _shouldn't_ have hoped.

Otherwise, she wouldn't be in this state right now.

* * *

"Did you ever get around to sparring with him?"

Sometimes Sakura wondered if he knew she was somewhat afraid of him.

"Never. He hadn't asked me since that day."

If he knew, that was probably why he had never asked.

"So how did you two become you know...boyfriend and girlfriend, and eventually marry?" Tsunnade asked.

The wedding had only been three months ago. A small, pleasant wedding.

Sakura smiled.

"We actually didn't become boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm not sure if all the time we spent together would count as dates."

"What do you mean?"

Sakura shook her head.

"He walked me home one day. And when he stopped off at my door..."

"_Are you seeing anyone?" he asked her in front of her front door._

_Sakura was shocked by his his question. _

"_Eh? **Me**? Seeing someone?" she asked, totally bemused._

_She saw him look a bit irritated. _

"_Yes, you," he said. _

_Sakura almost commended him for not snapping at her as he seemed to want to do. He was never known for his patience with anything, especially people, and not with his ninja training, or becoming stronger. He always pushed hard, strived hard, for he had wanted to kill Itachi._

_His goal had been an avenger._

_But now that this was gone, what was his new goal?_

"_I'm not seeing anyone," she answered carefully. Then smiled brilliantly, "Sasuke-kun, you're the only guy I've spending so much time with. Are you worried that there might be some jealous boyfriend in the background?"_

_When they were together, they normally didn't get personal. Sometimes they ate in silence, not saying a word._

_Sometimes Sakura felt that there was no need to, and maybe, it was what he also wanted. She didn't mind. Silence was good._

_But sometimes she wanted a real conversation with him that wasn't polite and about missions. _

_Sasuke had his hands shoved into his pockets. _

"_Yeah...something like that," he replied on a flat tone._

_Sakura's mouth dropped open. _

_Sasuke sighed, clearly not liking her reaction. "Sakura, I do need a wife. You're a great shinobi, and a fantastic healer. If I could have children with you, they would become powerful. I want you for that."_

_A part of Sakura itched to him and ask if he was a total jackass._

_Another part of her got all soft and squishy and stupid._

_Why?_

_Because for the first time ever, he had acknowledged her._

_Told her she was a great shinobi._

_A fantastic healer._

_And he wanted...**children** by her?_

_**Wait**._

_Something was wrong here._

_Sasuke never spoke like that to anyone, much less her!_

_He was often short, curt. _

_He gave irritated grunts, used the fewest words possible. Sometimes he hung out with the guys, sometimes he had lunch with her, but he wasn't really a sociable sort of person._

_Sakura pulled out a kunai then._

_Sasuke frowned. _

"_What's with that?"_

"_You're **not** Sasuke."_

_He gave a lopsided frown, as if realizing how odd those words seemed coming from him. He dodged when she threw the kunai at him._

_She made a fist and gathered chakra in it. The pink haired beauty moved swiftly while he was distracted, to land a punch in this person's face!_

_However, he caught her wrist easily and twisted hard enough to almost crack it. _

_And he did it all without showing any emotion on his face._

_Sakura was bewildered._

_No, this was definitely Sasuke._

_Only he had this kind of power!_

_And that was why she hadn't retaliated and continued fighting._

_That and the fact she was uneasy about the power running through the man in front of her. Even with the simple touch of his strong hand on her wrist, she could feel his strength._

_And thinking back on what he had just said, he had complimented her, told her he needed a wife and he wanted children with her, because, they would be powerful. _

_But never once had he uttered the word 'love.'_

_Sakura turned her wrist and tried to free it from his hold, but he only tightened his grip, silently telling her to stop. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to let her know he wasn't letting her go unless she stood and listened to him._

_He remained calmly looking down at her with that one hand still gripping hers, while the other was shoved casually in his pocket. He was a broodingly handsome sort of man. _

_Inside of her, Inner Sakura had hearts in her eyes._

_**Cha! Sasuke-kun's so manly! He's a manly man!**_

_Sakura ignored her inner and gave Sasuke a cautious look. _

"_Release me," she ordered._

"_Are you going to run?" he asked quietly._

_Mutely, she shook her head._

_And slowly, he complied._

_Sakura rubbed her wrist for it ached lightly. "Just why are you telling me this, Sasuke-kun?" she questioned with wary emerald eyes._

_He shrugged. "I want you as my wife and the mother of my children. I just said that."_

"_I know you just said that," she snapped, exasperated, "but why me? There are hundreds of other girls who would fall at your feet."_

"_**You** would have," he pointed out._

_Her face went red as she recalled the night he had left the village when they were twelve. "That was a different time. I'm not the same person!" she snapped and she could have sworn she saw him smirk._

_Yet, he managed to keep his face carefully concealed of emotion. _

"_You could ask Karin. I'm sure she'd be happy," Sakura added. She wasn't yelling and she didn't sound angry. _

_In fact, she was quite interested to hear his answer to what he had just said._

"_Well, I could do that," he admitted slowly. Suddenly, he took hold of her hand that he had held tightly a moment ago. There was a fresh bruise gathering on her wrist._

_Sakura stared in shock as his hand began to glow green. It soothed over her flesh and gently chased away the beginnings of the bruise. However, it couldn't quite be completed because the chakra flickered and died like a weak flame. _

_Sasuke let her hand go and she pressed her hand that he had partially healed to her chest as she continued to watch him like a wary animal who was being coaxed with food. _

"_I don't have your chakra control," he informed her. That was why although he had somehow copied the healing jutsu with his sharingan, he couldn't actually carry it out properly. Copying jutsu was one thing, having the skill to actually carry out the jutsu to perfection was another. In the case of healing jutsu, perfect chakra control was required._

_And perfect chakra control was rare. _

"_Neither Karin nor any other female I've come across has it the way you do," Sasuke continued. _

"_So you want your children to have my chakra control," Sakura continued. _

"_And my sharingan," he agreed._

_It seemed typical that Sasuke would want his children to be powerful, just like his clan had been. It was his pride._

_Perfect chakra control and the sharingan meant unique, dangerous abilities. _

_Yet, it felt so wrong to marry for such a reason!_

"_You can't expect me to agree to this!"_

_Sasuke shrugged. She was starting to get irritated by how perfectly normal he was about it. _

"_I don't. I'm not forcing you, and I don't expect you to agree either. I just threw it out there because you're the best candidate."_

_The **best** candidate?!_

_A wise part of Sakura wanted ask if he thought himself some sort of stud._

_Another part of her went all a-quiver because he just told her that she was the best person for the job._

_But if that meant that she was the best choice, then that meant that he had others in mind._

_She was uneasy about Sasuke Uchiha. She secretly loved him still._

_But a part of her couldn't forget how he had tried to kill her in cold blood more than once. It wasn't simply because she was afraid of what he could do to her if he tried. Knowledge that your next breath could be your last was normal in the world of shinobi._

_But being killed by someone you cared very much for was something else. _

_It was the very betrayal, the fact that she had been so unimportant to him that bothered her._

_And if she died at his hands, knowing she didn't have some significance to him, would be a terrible way to die._

_She didn't want that. _

_However, she also couldn't accept the thought that he would and could so easily marry someone else. _

_Her dream had once been to marry Sasuke._

_And here he was offering it to her._

_So why the hell not take it?_

_You live only once right?_

But in the end, the question always came back to her:

Was it worth it?

* * *

**A/N: Still not sure where I'm going with this. **

**I think Sakura Haruno is a character with great potential, but Kishi doesn't seem to really care to let her have her moment, even though she is an 'important member of Team 7.' Every time I expect him to do so, he really lets me down. The last time she really got good screen time was in her fight with Sasori. But that's just my opinion. Maybe he has good plans for her? One can only hope. **

**Also, I may not be a regular updater, but if the story is interesting enough to you, I hope you still enjoy it despite me not being a frequent updater. I rated the story 'M' just in case, but just to let you know, I don't do graphic lemons. I do more limish stuff. **

**Thank you for all of the positive reviews. Thank you also for following and favoriting. Your support means a lot to me.**

**God bless :)**


	3. Hope Maybe?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

_**Chapter 3: Hope Maybe?**_

* * *

_Sasuke had never treated her like a girl. He probably didn't really know how to. Most guys held open doors for girls, pulled a chair out for her to be seated it - just general chivalry._

_Sasuke would leave the door to slam in her face if he could help it._

_And when he spoke, his tone never became gentler than what he used with the other guys. _

"Does he treat you well?" Tsunade asked carefully.

She didn't trust the Uchiha.

Okay, she knew he was dependable as a shinobi now.

But not with Sakura. Could he still be retaining some madness and willingly lashed out at Sakura to hurt her?

"He treats me well. Quite well actually," Sakura informed her. Then her mouth twisted ruefully, "probably as well as Sasuke Uchiha is capable off."

"What does that mean?"

"He tells me where he's going, and always comes back when he says he will. If he's running late, he'll tell me. If I'm working late, he'll cook dinner for us both..."

"And?" Tsunade prompted.

Sakura shrugged. "That's about as good as Sasuke-kun gets."

Tsunade released a heavy breath.

What a troublesome situation her student had gotten herself into!

One of the children playing with the softball threw it so that it landed close to Sakura. She stooped and picked it up.

At the same time, one of the toddlers approached her.

Sakura looked at the little boy.

He was a chubby child and having learned to walk recently, he was still a bit clumsy as he tried to run around.

But he was adorable nonetheless with his dark hair and eyes, and the cute overalls he wore on. He smiled at Sakura for he recognized her; she worked in the hospital where his mother took him in for check ups.

"Ah hello there, Tora-kun. Is this your ball?" Sakura cooed at him.

He merely giggled for he was a little shy sometimes, and quickly grasped the ball. He ran away with it and nearly fell, but he caught his balance and started playing with his friend again.

"Cute brat," Tsunade remarked.

Sakura merely continued smiling as she stood up.

"Sakura, if Sasuke says he wants children, then you aren't using protection, are you?"

Sakura shook her head.

"And I've been through a lot of check ups to check my fertility. I should be pregnant already," she almost whispered.

Tsunade could tell she was worried.

She probably believed Sasuke would divorce her if he felt that she was infertile.

He probably would, given the cold blooded, business-like arrangement that he had proposed to Sakura and she had naively accepted.

"Sometimes when you want things too much, you don't get them. It's psychological."

Sakura remained silently for a long moment as she watched Tora play. There was obvious longing in those vivid green eyes.

She closed them for a moment. When she reopened them, she asked softly, "Do you really think so, shishou?"

"You do the routine health check that kunoichi's have to go through, everything was alright, including your fertility."

Given that female ninjas could get wounded sensitive areas, they were often required to take check-ups to ensure that there was nothing wrong with them on the inside that could affect their future in having children.

Tora was laughing happily with his friend now, and was quite oblivious to the two females looking at him.

"I think so," Tsunade replied.

There was another round of silence as Sakura's pink eyebrows cringed slightly, revealing her inner turmoil.

"Or maybe I'm desperate for a baby for all the wrong reasons, maybe Sasuke and I want a child for the wrong reasons. He wants a child to revive his clan, I bet he knows nothing about the joy of having one. I want one because then it would secure my position as his wife, not for the baby itself. That's wrong."

"It is," Tsunade agreed quietly. "You do get along well with Sasuke now, don't you? Maybe you can ask him to hold off for a little while."

Sakura smiled self-derisively.

"Then I wouldn't be of any use to him."

Tsunade said nothing. It was painful to hear her student utter such words. Even if she agreed to marry for foolish reasons, the emotional burden it had brought her was tremendous and Tsunade could only pity her.

She was young, being young involved making mistakes.

But some mistakes you only wished you hadn't made that choice in the first place. It seemed like this was how Sakura was feeling right now.

Her eyes seemed to become dead as the wind picked up and blew through her hair.

"It's wrong isn't it?"

"Wrong?" Tsunade repeated, not quite understanding what she meant.

"Wrong to bring a child into the world, and into a marriage like that. Maybe if I trusted Sasuke-kun, maybe if I believed in him, I'd think there was a chance for us as a couple. We won't last shishou. _I_ won't last, and I can't bear to have a child born into a marriage like that."

"But you don't want to let go, do you?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura shook her head and tears gathered in her eyes.

"No, but I have to. I can't let any child of mine be born into a marriage like that, one where there isn't love, or any trust. Any child of mine deserves better than that."

Tsunade smiled inwardly as she thought about what a good mother her apprentice would make; even though she didn't have any children yet, she was already protective.

"What are you going to do then?" Tsunade asked instead.

"Let go, but I wish I knew how."

* * *

_There was one question that plagued Sakura's mind:_

_Did Sasuke-kun even know how babies were made?_

"_Of course I do," came the man in question's reply._

_Sakura was startled as she hadn't realized that she had spoken aloud. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun! S-sorry, it's just that you spent so much time at Orochimaru's base and then you got caught up in other things that I didn't think..." her voice trailed off as she realized that she was babbling like an idiot._

_Sasuke just shrugged. _

"_Orochimaru used to bring in a girl once in a while when I was there. He said it was to get rid off any pent up tension."_

"_Tension?" Sakura repeated._

_She saw him twist his mouth as if pouting. It was dark, so she couldn't really tell, but she wondered if his cheeks were red. _

"_Sexual tension," he clarified and her own face went red. _

"_Ah, I see! I guess...then...have you...you know..."_

_He was frowning now as he looked at her with his hands shoved in his pockets. _

"_Have I what?"_

_Sakura was blushing furiously. _

"_Have you er...gotten rid off your sexual tension recently?"_

_His features seemed to soften although he remained blank of any expression. Maybe he was secretly smiling. _

"_No."_

"_Er...neither have I," she said to him. _

_He glanced at her. _

"_You've never had sex," he stated blandly and once more, she was blushing furiously. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun! What a thing to say!" she gasped._

_He smirked and she became irritated._

_With her hands balled into fists, she glared up at him, "How would you even know?"_

_He lost his smirk as he turned toward her. There was a sort of menacing aura that seemed to come over him._

_His face, his entire body seemed to go rigid as he became very serious._

_Sakura felt herself become uneasy._

_Warily, she stepped back from him and found that her back hit against a wall. She glanced to see it and was startled when Sasuke's palm slapped into the wall beside her face._

_She turned wide emerald green eyes to gaze at his face. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun?"_

_His free hand reached to grasp hold of her chin in a tight grip as he forced her look directly into his eyes. _

"_Have you?" he questioned._

_She shook her head quickly._

_He nodded in approval and lowered his hand. For a long moment, he continued to look at her with an almost clinical expression on._

_Maybe he realized that his actions had frightened her._

_He hesitated, and then lowered his head._

_Gently, he touched his warm lips to hers. It was only a brief, slight touch, which stunned the fear out of Sakura._

_As quickly as he touched her, as quickly he let her go and turned away. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun?" she voiced his name in shock._

_He shoved his hands in his pockets. _

"_I know a lot more than you."_

* * *

As Sakura slowly made her way home, she thought about the way the conversation had ended with Tsunade:

"_So why don't you trust him exactly? Is it because he tried to kill you more than once? He isn't that man anymore," Tsunnade pointed out._

_Sakura lifted her head and looked up at the clear blue sky. Blue skies and sunshine reminded her of Naruto._

_His eyes were just as blue. His spiky hair was as yellow as the sun._

_But Sasuke, Sasuke was the night. Dark hair, dark eyes._

_**Darkness**. _

"_He's not that man anymore," Sakura agreed quietly, "but maybe I'm afraid that somewhere inside of him, he could become that person again. Somewhere inside of him, is that man who lost his soul to madness."_

"_He isn't that man," Tsunnade assured her. She didn't hate Sasuke, but she couldn't say she loved him either. He was intelligent, but he a damned hot head sometimes. She recalled when she had to stand in as Hokage temporarily when Naruto went of to Suna for a lengthy trip. _

_The brat had wanted to take on a mission and she had denied him. While she had yelled at him, he had coolly argued with her._

_Oh, he never raised his voice. He didn't seem the type to do so unless something really triggered him off. Or maybe he held it in as she was a person in authority and could have him thrown back into jail._

_Tsunade doubted that though. She had a feeling that he didn't raise his voice with her because he didn't see any real reason to. _

_But he was damned stubborn and he did have a bloody hot head that he displayed in a cool way._

_Damned brat. _

"_He isn't that boy you were in love with years ago either," Tsunnade pointed out._

_Sakura was surprised at her words._

_She stared at her teacher._

"_Shishou?"_

"_Is it really love that you feel for him, Sakura? Maybe you're looking at Sasuke right now, and not seeing him for who he really is. Maybe that's something you need to think about."_

Sakura stopped at the front door of the home she shared with Sasuke.

Yes, maybe Tsunade was right.

Maybe she was failing to see Sasuke as the man he was now. Maybe she was searching for the young boy she had fallen in love with, and that boy was now grown up and was also a different person.

Maybe, just maybe, she needed to look past that.

The door opened and her husband's figure filled the doorway. He had a silent way about him, yet at the same time, he somehow left the impression of a man who possessed great power.

He frowned at her.

"Where have you been?"

Sakura gave him a gentle smile.

Maybe it was time she really took a good, long, hard look at the man who was standing before her, and maybe it was time to accept him as he was. If she did that, then maybe she could survive this marriage, learn to trust him.

"I've been out with shishou," she responded.

Then, she tiptoed and pressed her lips against his cheek. Her quick smack took him by surprise and he gave her an frowning, inquisitive look.

Yet, she continued smiling.

"I'm sorry I didn't call. Let's have dinner, Sasuke-kun."

Maybe, just maybe, there was _hope_ for them.

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed. I've sort of mapped out where I'm going. **_

_**I tend to ship Sakura with others like Itachi or Kakashi. I can see her having a relationship with Naruto, but somehow, I still don't like her with him. I don't know why. Anyway, I may do work with Sakura and other characters, if I have the time and feel inclined. So if you're a really big fan of Sakura, please look out for it (if I ever post it). Thanks again for reading. I also appreciate all the support I have been given so far.**_

_**Wrote this after working a 12 hour day. Probably has typos, and my eyes are closing on me. Sorry if there's errors or inconsistency. **_

_**Let me know your thoughts on this chapter.**_

_**God bless :)**_


	4. Deluded?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

_**I rated this story 'M' for a reason. Although I have mentioned that I do not write graphic lemons, I tend to do more limish stuff, please be responsible for what you read, especially if you are aware that you are underaged. **_

* * *

**Trust**

_**Chapter 4: Deluded?**_

* * *

Sasuke was a suspicious man. He had seen too much death and betrayal to not be on his guard all the time.

Now, he shouldn't have a reason to feel uneasy about his wife, but the way she was behaving was making him wary.

Over the course of their three month marriage, he had noticed that she smiled less frequently, and much less sincerely. He could sense she was troubled.

And then suddenly, she comes home today, positively _beaming_ at him.

This was _not_ normal.

It made him feel like something was amiss, that something was going to break.

* * *

There was laundry to be done.

Sakura sighed wearily. She was supposed to do this when she came home, then prepare dinner, but she had spent time with Tsunade instead.

Dinner itself had been a bit of a let down today:

_Sasuke didn't question her when she came home. He just wasn't really the sort of guy to query about his wife's day. That was because he didn't really care to know. _

_He just silently walked back to the kitchen, knowing she would follow._

_And she did._

_As expected, he had made dinner for them seeing as she wasn't home. It wouldn't be a big deal to him because he had the day off. Had he come back after a tedious mission, he might have been irritated._

_Because a hungry man was an angry man, and not every man was willing to settle for cup noodles like Naruto._

_Of course, Sasuke's idea of food was anything tomato or rice based._

_Today he made some sort of weird seasoned tomato balls that were stuffed with rice, along with steamed fish._

_Sasuke Uchiha was a very creative man, but it seemed that when it came to food, his creativity was limited to the things he liked._

_Which were rice and tomatoes. _

_Sakura was shocked he even bothered to add any fish. She smiled inwardly as she thought that maybe he added it for her sake._

_At least the good thing was that no matter how odd the food Sasuke cooked was, it still tasted pretty great. _

_Sasuke moved to sit opposite her at the table with his own food set before him. _

_After they both gave their respective thanks, they began to dig in. Meals were normally very silent affairs between them. _

_She should be used to them, but they still made her feel uneasy. She had tried to strike up conversations in the past, but always, the conversation would fall flat._

_Figuring that maybe she didn't try hard enough, she decided to do so today, "Sasuke-kun, how come you added fish?" _

_He focused on his food as he used his chopsticks to dig some rice out of his tomato. _

"_Goes great with tomatoes."_

_So much for **her** being the reason. _

"_Oh, I see," she said and tried her best not to sound downcast. _

_And that was how the conversation would normally fall through. From there, she would start getting caught up in her negative thoughts as she would start thinking she was not significant in his life enough for him to give her some sort of consideration._

_But, she decided to dispose of such bad feelings today. He had waited on her to eat, hadn't he?_

"_It was nice of you to wait on me to have dinner."_

"_I had ramen with Naruto before."_

_Oh. So he wasn't that hungry. That was why he had supposedly waited. _

_Sakura went very quiet. It was hard to not be consumed by negative thoughts when he acted like this. _

_At first, she had been enthusiastic about eating the yummy food because she thought he had made it with extra thoughts toward her._

_But now, it was like cardboard in her mouth for she realized he hadn't really cared. He just made what he wanted, and not really thought about her. _

_She lifted her barely touched plate of food and took it over to him. Only when she came to stand next to him did he look up at her._

_She smiled kindly, and maybe a little sadly, "Here, Sasuke-kun. Please have my share. I'm not very hungry tonight."_

_She set it beside his plate and turned to go._

_Sasuke pressed some rice into his mouth as he watched her leave through the door. Then he glanced down at her barely touched dinner, and frowned._

* * *

Sakura lifted up one of her husband's black shirts from the laundry basket. It smelled like him – like sweat and musk.

She used to think that when they got married, she would wake up in his arms, wearing on his shirts. There was something simply intimate about wearing a lover's clothing, knowing that you were wrapped in what he was wearing.

Like an embrace of sorts.

But Sakura didn't have that sort of closeness with Sasuke for her to feel comfortable enough wearing his clothes. Oh sure, the sex was great with him...but it wasn't affectionate. She had quickly learned this on their wedding night.

_He had kissed her once, and only very briefly at the wedding ceremony. They had chosen to have a sort of Western styled wedding._

_Sasuke hadn't wanted a honeymoon because had a mission in two days' time. He was only granted leave due to his impending marriage, but after that, he would be back on track as ANBU Vice-Captain. Sakura had been uneasy, and she had almost runaway._

_But the fact that all her friends and family were out there, feeling happy for her that she had gotten the man of her dreams, had made her stand her ground._

_When they had returned to Sasuke's home, which was now her new home as well, he hadn't carried her over the threshold the way a husband would his new wife._

_Instead, he had her follow him. He simply showed her around. When they finally got to the bedroom, Sakura hesitated once she stepped inside._

_She knew Sasuke would want her now. He was already shedding his black jacket and tearing off his tie. _

_He seemed to sense that she was uneasy. Taking her hand in his, he kept his dark eyes on her as he calmly assured her, "You'll be fine,"_

_He was silently telling her to trust him._

_And surprisingly, she did. Maybe what she really needed from Sasuke Uchiha was reassurance, but he had never really given this to her outside of their bed. _

_He carefully drew her against his body and she was shocked at how unfamiliar it felt to be held by him. _

_Sasuke was not an overly muscular man. He was built, but as a ninja, his body had perfect proportions for speed and coordination. She could feel strength running through him. _

_And in some kind of way, she could also power lying coursing through him._

_Too much dark, brooding power._

_And it almost scared her._

_He lowered his head to hers and covered her mouth with his. His kiss was slow, soothing almost. At the same time, his free hand moved to her back and unzipped her dress._

_It fell to the floor in a pool at her feet._

_She stiffened and pulled her mouth from his._

_She looked up at him with doubtful green eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest which was clad in a white lacy bra. This was the first time any man had seen her so close to naked. _

_Even though Naruto had tried to peek at her in the past at a hot spring, he hadn't succeeded (and had wound up with several broken bones and ruptured organs as a result)._

_Sasuke's black eyes narrowed slightly, and without warning, he suddenly grasped her elbow._

_Before she knew it, she was shoved unceremoniously on the bed where she lay flat on her back with her young, vulnerable body free to Sasuke's dark gaze. _

_He towered over her pale figure, observing the way she had grown up. Her legs were long and slender. Her stomach was flat and toned, with gentle curving at her hips before it flared out to her thighs. Her breasts were firm. Not too big, not too small._

_Her arms moved to quickly cross over her chest again as almost frightened emerald eyes gazed up at him._

_But he wouldn't let her hide herself._

_Instead, he pressed his knee into the bed beside her and leaned his larger, warmer body over hers. He grasped her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head. _

"_No!" she protested, but he ignored her._

_He gave her a brief, hard kiss where his tongued plundered the depths of hers, before he moved to nipping at her neck._

_He released one wrist and used his now free hand to slide along her stomach. Sakura shivered at his touch._

_She moved her now free hand to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. She gasped as his hand covered one of breasts and began to gently caress it._

_His touches were so foreign to her, and she wanted them to stop! _

_She gathered chakra in her wrist now, and moved to hit him, but he caught her hand again._

_Cold black eyes glittered down at her. _

"_You agreed to this," he reminded her._

_She swallowed hard._

_Yes, she did. _

_On a gentler tone, he said to her, "Don't fight what you feel. Just let it happen."_

_And she did._

_When he resumed stroking her body, she felt her lower stomach tighten with desire. She moaned when he removed her underwear and used his hands and his mouth to touch her in her most intimate places._

_From his touches, she knew that he was ensuring that she felt pleasure, so that she would be more comfortable with him. She appreciated that, and it softened her heart so that she was more welcoming to him. _

_She cried out his name and begged him for more, and finally, he entered her._

_And it hurt._

_She gripped his shoulders tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip at the pain._

_She could endure it. She had endured worse: stab wounds, poison, bites, scratches bruises._

_But this was different. This was inside of her, a part of her was being taken and filled by a man._

_A man who was her husband._

_And that man was Sasuke Uchiha._

_She opened her eyes and gazed up at Sasuke who was looking down at her intensely. It seemed that he was unwilling to move if she was hurting._

_However, she nodded, letting him know it was alright._

_He began to move then, slowly at first. She began to moan his name and cry out softly. Finally, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in his neck, so that their bodies were practically sealed together._

_It was so intimate, feeling his naked flesh against hers, skin to to skin as he filled her with himself. The pleasure she felt with him built and built until it burst like an exploding star._

_Sasuke had collapsed atop her, breathing heavily while Sakura idly stroked his thick black hair. She wanted to stay like this forever._

_But then, Sasuke suddenly moved._

_He rolled over to his side, facing away from her. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun?" she voiced his name. _

"_Go to sleep," he ordered and pulled the blanket over himself._

* * *

Sakura wiped away the tear that rolled down her cheek.

He was a cold man. Dark hair and eyes suggested that he was like the Winter; icy, frozen. She had thought that if they had sex more often, things would change a little.

But it didn't.

Instead, she noticed that he didn't kiss her often. He preferred to move away from her as soon as possible, sometimes showering immediately after. This made her wonder if he disliked her in some kind of way since he was so quick to wash away the feel of her from him.

And this only served to make her realize that she was nothing but a tool to him.

* * *

_In her dream, a large snake slid slowly through the empty room around her. It was a copper color and had a frightening aura. It's body was at least three times the side of her thigh._

_She was cornered in a room as she gazed at it frightfully._

_Slowly, it wound its way around her, wrapping its cold body around her. _

"_Let go!" she begged as it tightened its hold on her._

_Its face came up to hers and it stared at her directly in the eye._

_They were black eyes, familiar eyes that slowly became blood red. Three black commas began to appear. _

"_No!" she cried out as it began to move around her neck. So cold, so suffocating..._

* * *

"_Sakura_!" Sasuke's voice called out.

Her eyes sprang open and she found herself staring up at her husband's handsome face. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

He frowned at her and moved back when she sat up.

"You were tossing and turning," he informed her.

"Bad dream," she mumbled as explanation. Lifting a hand she pushed back her thick, pink hair that had fallen onto her face.

"I know that. You had one last night too," he reminded her.

"I've just got a lot of stuff on my mind," she replied. He remained staring at her as only silence passed between them.

Wanting to desperately get out of the room because of it, she mumbled, "I need a glass of water,"

However, her head began to throb when she moved.

Sasuke sighed.

"Stay there, I'll get it for you."

She was a little surprised at his consideration, but then again, what mattered to him was that she just go back to sleep because she had already disturbed his.

Sasuke was a handsome man. She observed him as he came into the room again with her water. Over the years, his strange hairstyle had remained with thick bangs that fell to the sides of his head, and with some that stuck up to the back. His face was long with dark eyes and an almost too perfect nose and mouth.

He was wearing on an armless shirt that showed off his toned arms. He also preferred to sleep in boxers.

He _did_ have a gorgeous backside.

'Buns of steel' Ino had once called it, which had made Sakura laugh and blush at the same time.

When Sasuke handed her the water, his fingers brushed her own. She was stunned at how cold his hand was.

She fought hard to hide how repulsed she was.

Slowly, she drank her water as Sasuke went over to his side of the bed.

She knew for sure that they couldn't carry on like this.

Well, maybe _he_ could, but _she_ couldn't.

Based on Tsunade's advice, she was trying to see Sasuke for the man he currently was, rather than the young boy she once knew.

To be honest, she didn't like who she was seeing.

She saw a man who was emotionless, and uncaring toward his wife. He did things for his own benefit rather than her own. Maybe in some way, he had a very slight fondness for her.

But truly, he didn't really consider her a significant existence to him other than to give him powerful children.

She viewed herself as stupid for even marrying him in the first place.

Yes, that was true: she had been trying to find that young boy she had once known. The pre-teen Sasuke Uchiha had been cold, yes, icy, yes.

But he hadn't been uncaring.

He didn't hesitate to save her if she was in trouble. He had harsh words sometimes, but he did say things to build her up at times. Like when they had first entered the Chunnin exams.

She had known, even back then, even when he was leaving the village that she had been somewhat important to him.

But this man who she had married was none of those things. He was stronger, more powerful now, but he wasn't the Sasuke Uchiha she had once known.

He had never said he was sorry, or that he was wrong for all the things he had done.

Leaving the village.

Trying to kill everyone.

Abandoning _her_.

Being willing to murder _her_.

But then again, she had never apologized for trying to kill him either, had she?

Maybe he had changed, maybe he would never lift his hand against her again, but she didn't know for sure.

Because she didn't know this man. She didn't know _who_ he was.

And she didn't know where she stood with him.

"Sakura?" Sasuke voiced her name with a bit of hesitancy. It seemed he realized that something was truly bothering her.

Thinking back, she had tried to kill Sasuke too, hadn't she?

But she hadn't been able to go through it.

Now, she was going to do something, just to see how much he truly care for her as a person, as Sakura Haruno-Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun," she voiced his name.

He eyed her uneasily.

"I'm sorry," she informed him.

He gave her a puzzled look.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you that time," she responded.

Sasuke blinked.

Giving her a strange look, he adjusted her his blankets.

"It was a long time ago, go back to sleep," he said and turned the other way.

Ah, so he wasn't even going to ask why she had said that, or even apologize as well.

A dark, terrified part of her whispered that he actually wasn't sorry at all. That he would willing try to kill her again if they were put into that situation again.

Because if he didn't apologize, then how could he be contrite?

Still, she had to not be paranoid.

Now, was the final question, the one to confirm if she had truly deluded herself into thinking he actually cared for her.

"Sasuke-kun."

"What?" he snapped, clearly annoyed and wanting to go back to sleep.

Ignoring his ire, she continued, "If I said I wanted to hold off on having children, what would you do?"

* * *

_**A/N: I got the chapter all angsty. Sorry! And sorry for the cliffhanger too. Hope you enjoyed. **_

_****Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. **_

_**Thank you for all the support I have received so far, especially from those who have supported me since my K Project Growing Pains fanfictions. This means a lot to me :)**_

_**To answer a few questions, as it seems I haven't really done so yet:**_

_**Guest: Will this be a pro SasuSaku? Definitely ;)**_

_**I LOVE Sasusaku: Are they sleeping together? I think this chapter answers your question ;)**_

_**Hodgeheg: And did Sakura kiss or hit Sasuke? She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Another way of saying kiss is 'smack' because the sound a quick kiss sometimes makes is 'smack.' I have to admit that I actually haven't seen that term used in a while :)**_

_**ineversleep123: Y not put a third party nd dont impregnated Sakura to soon? I kind of didn't understand what you asked, but I'm assuming you're asking me why I don't put in a third party to complicate things, and have Sakura get pregnant soon? Don't worry, I have my plans laid out already ;)**_

_**xNightDreamerx: I know you didn't ask anything, but I just wanted to rant with you: I totally agree with you. My brother used to be a huge fan of Naruto and he actually told me the same thing as you, that it should be named 'Naruto and Sasuke' or even just 'Sasuke.' **_

**Thank you again, God bless :)**


	5. Punish

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

**Chapter 5: Punish**

* * *

"Sasuke! You're holding back on me!" Naruto snapped angrily.

The pair were in their old training grounds which was more or less burnt, scorched and relatively damaged from the fight Sasuke and Naruto just had.

Well, it should have been a little bit of basic sparring. After all, they were two of the greatest shinobi of all time, who better to fight with than each other to ensure their skills remained sharp?

Unfortunately, Sasuke had deliberately pulled out his sword and had run chidori through its blade. As it was sparring - basic taijutsu - this was something uncalled for and Naruto, with his temper, had retaliated by coming at him with a full blown attack.

Naruto was stupid in many ways.

But he was also very smart, especially on the battlefield.

He recognized quickly that Sasuke deliberately aimed powerful attacks at him, but not for the purpose of _actually_ hitting him. Instead, he was sort of egging Naruto on to come at him.

As such, Naruto was unscathed.

Sasuke was not.

His body was bruised. He had a couple of cuts here and there.

One did not fight with Naruto Uzumaki and expect to come out unwounded.

Sasuke was kneeling on the ground. One knee was pressed into the earth while one of his arms was propped over his thigh. His sword was in his free hand and he was breathing hard.

Naruto grew agitated when his friend did not respond.

The new Hokage reached down and grabbed Sasuke by the shirtfront.

"What the hell, bastard?! Are you using me to punish yourself for something?!" he demanded.

Sasuke's breathing evened out, and to Naruto's reply, he nodded.

Shocked, the blonde stared at his friend's admission.

Sasuke slapped his hand away from him and stood up.

"Thanks for the fight, dobe."

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

"Home."

"Tell me why you're trying to punish yourself! Asshole, you aren't going anywhere until you tell me what the heck this is about! You think it's easy for me to make time from my busy schedule just to uselessly beat the crap out of you?! Hey, are you listening to me? Hey! HEY! COME BACK HERE BASTARD...!"

But Sasuke was already walking away, ignoring his friend's ranting and yelling.

* * *

Sasuke opened the door to his bedroom. Inside, he knew his wife was there.

But she wasn't asleep.

She was pretending to be, but she wasn't.

He didn't call her out or acknowledge her.

Instead, he grabbed a towel and headed straight for the bathroom.

* * *

Sakura's body was bruised.

It was battered.

But it wasn't because Sasuke had hurt her. He hadn't raised his hand to physically harm her. He hadn't _abused_ her.

Instead, he had screwed her senseless.

Maybe that should qualify as sexual abuse of sorts, but to be honest, Sakura knew it had been far from anything like rape.

Although it might have started out something like that.

* * *

**_A few hours ago..._**

In the three months of their marriage, Sasuke hadn't shown much feeling toward Sakura. Not that he ever really had before, aside from irritation.

But the moment she said, _'If I said I wanted to hold off on having children, what would you do?'_ she saw his eyes narrow slightly.

Just a little downward turn of those black eyebrows.

But there was coldness in his gaze and the formation of a glare, and despite this iciness, she sensed a heat rising in him.

Like a black, foreboding chakra that was going to wrap around her like a snake, and _choke_ her to death.

Her eyes widened for she knew he was angry.

It wasn't like the brief bouts of irritation he had displayed to her when they were in their pre-teens. No, this was different.

It was true _rage_.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

He reached over and grasped her chin in his hand. He jerked her face upward and forced her to keep gazing at him.

Sakura grasped his wrist with both hands, wanting him to let go.

"And just why," he began with deadly softness, "are you asking me this?"

Sakura felt fear rising up in her.

That terror that he would willingly kill her.

But Sakura was not a coward at heart, not even before this man who terrified her.

Standing her ground, she responded, "Because I don't know if I want any now,"

Sasuke eyed coolly.

"You agreed to this."

Sakura tugged his hand free from her and pushed it away. "Yes," she agreed slowly, cautiously. She had to be careful, lest she awakened a monster. "But I'm starting to regret it."

Before she could even continue, she was suddenly shoved onto her stomach on the bed. Sakura gasped.

Sasuke was so quick!

His strong thighs straddled her hips, gripping her tightly.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded, alarmed.

In response, he caught the back of her head and pressed her face into the mattress so that her cheek was forced hard into it.

He wasn't being violent and merciless, but she could sense tension in him that was being controlled by a very thin line.

She shivered when she felt his warm breath at the base of her neck.

"Suppose you're already pregnant?" he pointed out.

"I saw shishou today. I'm not," she assured him and tried to push herself upward and away from him.

However, he easily grasped her wrists and pinned them behind her back. She was like an enemy, trapped on the ground, being interrogated for answers.

All that was missing was a kunai pointed to the back of her head.

"Then I'll fix that," he promised.

Sakura was stunned by his answer.

"No, Sasuke-kun, you can't!" she protested, but he ignored her as he used his hand that was behind her head and began to slowly, almost sensuously slide it down her clothed body.

Sakura gasped at his touch. She tried to wriggle away, but he only tightened his hold on her wrists while his hand reached her naked thigh and encircled its slender length. His calloused palm moved inward, rasping her flesh.

Sakura whimpered when his hand covered her sweet spot and began to softly caress her.

"You want this," he whispered as he felt the evidence of her arousal.

Sakura shook her head and fought of the feelings of pleasure that began to draw up in her. Gathering chakra in her fists, she broke his hold and moved onto her back. As fast as she could, she aimed a powerful punch at him, but he easily jumped back.

He was like a panther sometimes, for his moves were so graceful and swift.

He now stood in front of the bed. Emerald green eyes glared at him.

Sasuke smirked and looked like a handsome devil with that black silky hair and those glittering obsidian eyes.

"Hn. I didn't know you could be such a wildcat."

"Get away from me," she hissed.

Sasuke lost his smirk. His face became serious as he remained standing with his legs apart. Sakura felt the room's air become lighter, the atmosphere heavier.

And Sasuke seemed to be exuding some sort of feeling, a feeling of power and it was oppressing her.

"Strip," he ordered.

It was the first time he had ever commanded her to do anything.

A part of her felt compelled to obey out of fear.

Another part of her was enraged at his audacity to think that she would submit to him. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared.

"No," she denied.

"Do it," he ordered menacingly, "or I will do it for you."

He would carry out his threat, and she knew it.

Yet, pride stopped her from giving in.

"Prove it," she challenged instead.

For the first time since they had married, they were angry at each other.

And for the first time, Sakura had blatantly denied him anything.

And he seemed to be enjoying it from the way his beautiful black eyes danced with dark amusement.

"Fine."

Sakura could feel an spike in his energy as he lifted his hand.

_A scarred, bloodied hand reached out to her..._

Sakura blinked at the unexpected memory as she saw her husband's hand coming nearer to her.

_It reached out and grabbed her neck..._

The memory jolted Sakura and she immediately recoiled. In a moment of sheer terror, she slapped his hand away from her.

Sasuke was clearly stunned by her behaviour, for her stared at her, taking in her pale frightened form.

She wrapped her arms around her body and turned her head away from his, not wanting to look at him.

"Don't touch me...please," she requested quietly.

Sasuke stared at her for a long moment and frowned.

She was trembling slightly, as if afraid.

Sakura was surprised when she felt Sasuke's hands gently cup her shoulders. Startled, she looked up at him, but his expression did not give way to what he was thinking.

As he wasn't handling her roughly, she did not resist when he lowered his head and kissed her slowly. It was the first time in days he had kissed her.

It seemed he wasn't a big fan of mouth to mouth intimacy.

As such, she was surprised.

She whimpered softly as one of his hands drew down to the side of her body while he buried his face in her neck, nipping and sucking the flesh there.

She sighed, enjoying the warm feel of him, his strength, his hardness.

She pressed her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself as he sweetly touched her, and made her feel good.

He bunched the material of her nightshirt in his hand and whispered hotly in her ear, "Take it off,"

She drew back slightly to look at his handsome face.

His face was blank of expression, but she could see desire lurking in his dark eyes. Knowing he wanted her, just as much as she wanted him, sent a strong jolt of desire into her.

Almost meekly, she nodded, and caught the ends of her nightgown. She drew it over her body and let it drop off the side of the bed.

With that gone, Sasuke pushed her to lie flat on her back.

As her husband continued to make love to her, Sakura realized that there was a bit of sweetness in the way he held her.

As he rocked her body with his own, she held onto him, as if her life depended on it. Tears almost came to her eyes, because this was the first time they had ever had sex and it felt like they were _really_ married.

Like he actually _cared_ for her.

* * *

But such feelings were short-lived.

Sakura lay beside him, breathing hard. She was flat on her stomach, trying to recover.

However, her breathing had barely evened out properly before Sasuke caught her arm and pushed her on her back.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" she voiced his name.

He was silent and serious again.

Cold even.

Just like how he was when they had sex before. He was touching her again, but that sweetness wasn't there anymore.

"Don't-" she protested but he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Don't argue with me. You agreed to this marriage. Don't forget that."

Sakura hated herself for responding to him, but Sasuke was a man who had quickly picked up on her weak spots and he knew exactly how to exploit them and make her beg him for more.

Throughout the night, he took her.

No matter how much she protested, he ignored her.

No matter how much she wanted to rebel against him, her body betrayed her and gave into him.

* * *

During the early hours of the morning, when she was completely worn out, she stared at her husband with her emerald green eyes.

"Why me?" she asked softly as he got out of bed. He had a lot of stamina, and as he was never the type to cuddle with her after sex, he was obviously going to the shower.

He looked at her from over his shoulder.

"You know why. You agreed to have my children. You're probably pregnant now. Don't even _think_ of leaving me."

Sakura now looked at him with vacant eyes.

With complete truth and sincerity, she whispered, "Marrying you was a mistake. If you got me pregnant, then that's an even bigger one."

Sasuke was clearly annoyed as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You should have thought about that before you agreed."

"Sasuke-"

"Enough Sakura!" he snapped and turned away.

She blinked and the emptiness of her eyes were gone.

"You're annoying," he muttered and trotted off to the bathroom.

* * *

When Sasuke came out of the bathroom, he saw his wife standing by the window of their room. Around her body was wrapped a white blanket that she pressed to her chest.

The morning sunlight lightly touched her face, giving it a slight incandecent glow. With her pretty pink hair and vivid green eyes, she looked unworldly.

_Beautiful_.

But on her face, a crystal teardrop slowly slid downward. It caught a ray of the sun, and for a moment it shone brightly before it dripped from her face and fell to the floor.

Sasuke turned from the sight and walked out the door.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki hated paperwork.

He wished he could just hire someone to do it for him.

Like, since when did being a Hokage require him to put a stamp on every stupid piece of document that came through the village?!

It was so frustrating! He wanted to be out there, fighting, meeting new people and making new friends!

Not in this damned claustrophobic office.

Suddenly, the door to his office flung open.

Naruto looked up to his best friend and rival standing there, with his hands in his pockets.

"Oi! You can't barge in here like that!" Naruto snapped. The bastard walked around like he owned the damned place!

"Me. You. Fight."

"Whaaaa...?! I'm not coming! Do you know how busy I am?"

"I'll be waiting at the training grounds," Sasuke stated as if he hadn't heard him, and walked out the door.

Naruto scowled.

"What the hell? You bastard, you can't tell me what to do! I'm the Hokage, show me some respect! I'm not coming, do you hear me?! I'm not!" he declared, despite knowing no one was there.

Naruto continued stamping the documents and muttering about Sasuke under his breath.

Then, he slammed his palms on his desk, knocking over the stamp and rifling some papers as he stood up.

"_Arrgh_! Alright, I'm coming damn it!"

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**Thank you so much for all the support. I really, really appreciate it! If I could hug everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed this story, I would :)**_

_**I'm also really glad that there's a lot of people who agree with me that Sakura is a pretty strong character. I just hope Kishi makes her more important and not really so much of a sidelined character.**_

_**I wonder if Kishi reads fanfiction? It would be interesting to know what he thinks about Naruto fanfiction! Hahahaha**_

_**I think I update kind of on a weekly basis, but I would like to try to do updates much faster. **_

_**Thanks again, God bless :)**_


	6. Value

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

_**Chapter 6: Value**_

* * *

_The cuts and bruises to his body weren't enough. He deserved much more than this._

_Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the sight of his wife standing by the window. She had looked so beautiful, like a mythical nymph. So unworldly._

_But so sad._

_And he had been the cause for her tears._

_**Again**._

_Unable to touch her, in fear that he would break, he had walked out the door to find Naruto._

_To get his friend to **punish** him._

* * *

He couldn't force her to stay.

No one could.

It was her decision to marry him, and he didn't force her to. If she wanted to leave him, then he shouldn't force her to stay either.

She didn't think she was pregnant from last night, but one could never tell. From the way they went at it until the early hours of the morning, there was a high possibility that she could be.

But at this moment, Sakura didn't care.

Child or no child, she wasn't staying.

This was her error, her fault.

But he had a part to play in it too.

And Sakura Haruno soon-to-no-longer-be Uchiha had finally had enough.

This was the last straw.

Sasuke had just come home and gone to the shower. He was acting as if nothing had happened. Sure, she might look like she was sleeping, but they both knew she wasn't. He had an opportunity to speak to her, and talk it out.

Clearly he was going to act as if nothing was wrong.

Well, to hell with him!

He wasn't going to talk about it, well she wasn't going to accept that.

Sakura was putting her foot down.

* * *

Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. To his shock, he saw his wife pulling out what seemed to be a large suitcase. She tossed it easily onto the bed before she turned and flung open the doors of the closet.

From there, she grabbed a whole rack of clothes and tossed them – hangers and all – into the suitcase.

"Sakura," he voiced her name.

She seemed to twitch when he called to her, but she ignored him and reached for another bundle of clothes.

"Sakura," he said, louder this time.

She paused and shot him an acid green glare. Sasuke was so stunned at how vicious she looked at him! He could almost swear that she might _spit_ at him.

Never, ever had he seen her watch him like that.

"What?" she demanded and went back to grabbing clothes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, angry now. She wasn't the only one pissed off in this moment.

"I'm packing, what else does it seem like?" she shot back.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, showing anger on his face.

"We talked about this," he reminded her.

In response, Sakura grabbed the lid of the suitcase and pulled it over so that it slammed shut. Furiously, she pulled the zip around it before spinning around in a whirl of pink fury. Hand on one hip, a finger pointing accusingly, she retorted, "_We_ talked about nothing. You just reminded me that I'm your baby vessel."

She reached into the closet and pulled out a duffel bag.

"You are _not_ leaving me," he stated.

Sakura dumped the bag on the bed, beside the suitcase.

"Watch me."

Sasuke was shocked at her how stubborn she was being.

He took one furious step toward her so that he came to stand right beside her. He towered her body by a good couple of inches.

Folding his arms, he glared down at the angry _little_ woman.

Yes, she was shorter than him so she was 'little'!

"You aren't getting one foot out of this house," he warned her.

Sakura lifted a defiant face up to him. Her pretty mouth formed a straight stubborn line.

"What are you going to do? Lock me in here?" she demanded.

He tsked and scowled.

"Don't tempt me to."

"Go to hell, Sasuke-kun," she spat and reached into the closet to pull out a black silk dress. She eyed it for a long moment, as if wondering where it came from and then tossed it at the duffel bag.

Sasuke felt his anger boil.

She was ignoring him!

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. For a moment, he saw her eyes widen, as if with fear. In that short few seconds, he was taken back to last night when she had begged him to leave her alone.

She had looked so pale, so frightened.

However, as quickly as it appeared, traces of it disappeared as only outrage marked her expression.

"Leave me alone Sasuke Uchiha! We're finished!"

Sasuke grabbed both her arms and shoved her against the wall to the side of the closet.

"We are not finished. You're an Uchiha! Uchihas _do not_ divorce," he informed her in a cold tone.

Sakura tried to shake off his hands unsuccessfully.

"Damn it, I'm not an Uchiha! I'm not a wife, I'm just your baby-making screw-toy!"

"If you don't hold that poison tongue, I will lock you in here," Sasuke threatened her as he glared down at her balefully.

Yet, she managed to look up at him with defiant fiery eyes. Inside of her, that coil of fear lay, but she desperately held on and tried not to let it unravel.

"I'll escape. I'll knock down the wall if I have to."

Sasuke believed her.

She was quite capable of it.

"You could be pregnant with my child. Do you think I'd let you leave then? Is that what you want Sakura? A child who grows up having to be shuffled to and from both parents? Do you think I'd allow that?"

Sakura, who had grown up with the love of both parents, knew that he was aiming very low. She would want their child to have both father and mother, just as she had. But, in a relationship like this, there was no point in that.

"It won't work! Do you think I can let my child grow up seeing how insignificant I am to you? Knowing that I believe that one day you could kill me, hurt me without a second thought?" she blurted out.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Then narrowed as he took in what she had just admitted.

"What did you just say?" he demanded.

Sakura bit her lip. Sasuke was clearly bewildered at her confession. She regretted speaking her mind.

"Sasuke-"

His grip on her shoulders tightened.

"How could you possibly think something like that? What sort of monster do you think I am?!" he demanded as he lifted her to her tiptoes and _shook_ her.

Sakura reached out and caught his biceps, stopping his angry motions. She was upset at the way he reacting and as such, she reacted with her own bouts of rage.

"Why not? You tried to do it before!"

"That was a long time ago!"

"You don't give me reason to believe otherwise!"

"I came back here! If I wanted to kill you or anyone else, then I could have done so a long time ago! Don't you trust me, Sakura?"

Her reply was written in her eyes.

To her surprise, he let her go slowly. He turned his head away, as if he betrayed.

"Why did you agree to marry me?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Sasuke-"

"Why?" he cut her off. He lifted his head and eyed her furiously. "why marry a man you don't trust?"

Sakura smiled then, but it was bitter.

"I ask myself that everyday. Because I'm stupid. I thought I was still in love with you, and I didn't want anyone else to have you, so I gave into your request. Even though I told myself I didn't have expectations, I still had hope."

Her expression had moved from ire to absolute sadness.

"I can't live with a man like you. When I'm with you, I feel like I'm alone. You never promised to love me, but I had hoped you would. I'm trying to make do with what little there is between us, but I feel like any intimacy you give me is like a man throwing scraps for a starving dog."

Sakura's voice became clogged with tears. She didn't look up at Sasuke's face as she turned away and walked over to the bed where she began to fold her clothes.

"I can't have a child with you. I don't think I'm pregnant, and if I am I will let you know so we can work something out. But I can't live with you anymore. Being with you is painful."

Sasuke tsked.

"That's not good enough. You agreed to married me. It's only been three months and you're already giving up. Stop being annoying."

His tone was rough and condemning.

Without understanding.

Sakura became infuriated again.

_Annoying_ was she?

"Forget it Sasuke Uchiha! I am _done_ with this! I told myself I'd try to see you for the person you are today, and not as the boy I once knew, but there is nothing, _absolutely nothing _I like about you!" she yelled at him. "At least the young boy I once knew was reliable! Even if he was cold hearted, he would protect me! At least I knew he cared, even a little!" Her voice broke off into a sob and she covered her mouth momentarily.

She managed to get control of herself before she swung back at him:

"I don't know who _you_! I don't know this Sasuke Uchiha! And I did try to get to know you, but you didn't let me in! I can't live like this!"

"Sakura-"

"I can't have children with someone I can't live with! My child doesn't deserve to grow up with an unloveable man like you!" she raged.

"Sakura-"

Sakura ignored him as her voice trembled when she continued, "I tried you know. I try to talk to you and you ignore me. I try to get to know you, but you push me away. You have sex with me and walk away from me afterward as if you can't stand my touch! Do you know it makes me feel?!"

Tears were streaming down her face.

"There's a reason for that-"

"I know I'm not pregnant right now! I can't be!"

"You're not."

"Oh, the great Uchiha knows everything now!"

"You're not pregnant because I did a special birth control jutsu to prevent you from getting pregnant."

"So you say and...!" Sakura snapped. However, before she could continue her ranting, her jaw dropped open.

She looked at him from over her shoulder.

"What?!"

* * *

Sasuke had his hands shoved in his pockets. He lifted a hand and ran it through his thick black hair.

"I use a jutsu that stops me from getting you pregnant."

A pin could have dropped and it would have echoed throughout the room.

Sakura held the black dress she had been folding in her hands. She turned her head and watched him uneasily over her shoulder.

Sasuke met her gaze steadily and didn't look away.

However, Sakura scowled and returned her attention to her dress.

"Liar. You're just saying that in case I'm pregnant."

"I'm not. I don't care for kids either."

Sakura paused.

She glanced at him again.

"If you're not Sasuke Uchiha, I give you to the count of three to get out of this house. 1-"

Sasuke sighed. "It's the truth."

Sakura forgot about counting now:

"You're the last of your clan, of course you'd want kids to carry your bloodline!"

"It's a tainted bloodline."

Sakura flew at him suddenly and slammed a fist on his chest.

"Then why, damn you? Why did you marry me?!"

Her voice was full of anguish.

Sasuke caught her elbows in his hands.

With words that echoed with absolute truth and sincerity, "Because I didn't want anyone else to have you either."

* * *

Sasuke saw his wife's eyes gaze up at him with shock and confusion.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

Sasuke wanted so badly to touch her more, to wipe away the tear that was sliding down her face. But he couldn't.

He was afraid to.

Releasing her, he stepped back and turned away so that she wouldn't see his tense expression.

"If you want to leave, I won't stop you," he informed her as calmly as he could. Forcing his face to relax, he looked at her from over his shoulder, "I won't force you to stay if you want to go."

Sakura lowered her hands and balled them into fists.

"Not until you tell me what this is about! I deserve to know."

* * *

"_You should just tell her the truth. What's so difficult about that?" Naruto asked. They were sitting at the ramen shop. After Sasuke had his friend unwittingly 'punish' him, Naruto had chased after him to find out what exactly was wrong. _

_Given the Hokage's ability to get a person to talk by nagging them, Sasuke let him in on what exactly was happening. _

"_I was selfish."_

"_So what else is new?"_

_Sasuke tsked and moved to get up. "It's a waste of time talking to you."_

_Naruto grasped his shoulder and pressed hard on it, "Sit down, Sasuke."_

"_No."_

"_Do it, or I tell Sakura everything myself," Naruto threatened. _

_Sasuke scowled and shoved away his hand. _

"_You wouldn't."_

"_I would!"_

_Sasuke muttered 'idiot' under his breath and sat down again. _

_Naruto smirked at how he was able to get the last Uchiha to obey to him. Most of time, he tended to be like a wild dog who was difficult to control, but threatening him like this, regarding Sakura, was like putting a leash on him._

_It seemed that his wife was his weak point. _

_Naruto kept note of this for future use. _

"_Sakura understands you better than you think."_

"_So what? It doesn't change the fact that I deceived her."_

"_Whether or not you deceived her, she still married you, didn't she?"_

"_Yeah, but-"_

"_But what? Don't you think she married you because she has feelings for you still? I mean come on Sasuke, you can't **really** think that having Uchiha brats was the real reason she agreed."_

"_It was considered a great honor in the past for a woman outside the clan to be asked to have Uchiha children."_

_Naruto cocked an eyebrow. _

"_Sounds like a nightmare to me."_

_Sasuke shot him an angry look._

"_I'm going home."_

"_Wait, damn it! My point is that Sakura isn't aware of that fact! I mean really, Sasuke. Are you that dense? Do you honestly think that a woman in this day and age thinks it's an honor for a man to ask her to have his children? Sasuke, women these days want love. They value themselves as more than just being baby makers."_

_"Since when do you know so much about women?"_

_"Since Hinata's father started having 'man to man' talks with me about getting engaged to Hinata...and hey, you're changing the subject! Sakura probably thinks you want her as a baby-making machine..."_

"_I don't think of her as that-"_

"_But she doesn't know that, does she?" came a new voice._

_Naruto yelped in shock and grabbed onto Sasuke._

_Apparently, sitting to his left was their pale skin, dark haired comrade, Sai. The young man was sitting as motionlessly as a statue and in his hands was a book which his eyes didn't even seem to blink at as they took in its words. _

"_Where the heck did you come from? And how long have you been standing there?!" Naruto yelled. _

_Sasuke shoved him away. _

"_And you call yourself the Hokage," Sasuke muttered._

"_Gimme a break, the guy popped outta nowhere!"_

_Sai closed the boook shut and turned his head slowly to meet Sasuke's gaze. _

"_Naruto is right you know."_

"_He heard everything!" Naruto gasped in an overly dramatic way. Then, he smiled like a troll as he put his arm around Sasuke, "See, even Sai agrees? There's a reason why I'm Hokage."_

_His head met with Sasuke's fist. As he nursed a bump on his head and muttered about Sasuke being a cold hearted 'bastard' and an 'asshole,' Sasuke eyed Sai keenly with his hands on his pockets. _

"_You heard everything?" Sasuke asked._

_Sai nodded, and smiled._

_But it was his was a type of smile he had never showed anyone. It was a sad sort of expression he had. _

_This surprised Sasuke. He hadn't interacted overly much with the guy who had replaced him on Team 7, but he did know that Sai wasn't really known for showing such emotions. _

"_People need to feel valued by their significant other. I don't know about relationships, but my girlfriend makes it known to me that she is a treasure."_

"_Is that why she's always got you buying her expensive stuff?" Naruto asked. _

_Sai cocked his head and blinked. _

"_She told me she's worth it."_

_Naruto smiled painfully._

"_Man, that Ino sure brainwashes that guy, doesn't she, Sasuke-kun?"_

_Sasuke snorted and turned away._

_However much Sai seemed emotionless, dense and unfortunately somewhat brainwashed, Sasuke couldn't deny the logic in his words._

* * *

**_A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews. I appreciate how many people are interested in this story. I think I have a couple of typos in here. I'm in a hurry to post, so when I have some time I will double check again. Apologies, please bear with me :)_**

**_By the way, if anyone actually reads author's notes...can you tell me what SasuSaku month is about, how it got started, who started it, how long ago etc.?_**

**_To answer a few questions:_**

**_Fried Chicken: 'Does this mean yur quitting GP?' LOL. No, I'm not. I'm just randomly updating. I don't think a lot of people are interested/actually know there's a part III out...Thanks for your support though :)_**

**_Angelus Erreare: I know you didn't ask anything, but if you see this, thanks very much for your words. I was wondering if my story sounded like too much of a typical SS marriage fanfic, and you unknowingly assured me it wasn't. Thank you :)_**

**_Strawberrys0000: 'Also, do you write lemons not to sound like a total perv just really wanted one' I think I mentioned in an A/N at the beginning of Chapter 4 that I do more limish stuff. I'm not comfortable writing lemons. Sorry :/ _**

**_mun3litknight: 'Is there going to be a happy ending, or is there going to be a twist?' I can't tell you that now, I would ruin it for you ;)_**

* * *

Thanks again. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter.

God bless :)


	7. Sasuke's Side

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

_**Chapter 7: Sasuke's Side**_

* * *

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at his wife.

She was wearing on one of those black shinobi shirts that had the orange swirl on the arms. Hers was a bit long, so it covered her thighs. It didn't show too much of the slenderness of her body, but it did hint at her breasts and the flair of her thighs.

Her fair, slender legs were marred with red imprints, as if someone had gripped them hard.

Her neck had a darkening mark, as if someone had nipped and sucked at it insistently. Her mouth was bruised, her lower lip slightly swollen.

She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly loved all night long, whose lover had imprinted himself onto her, carved himself into her.

Held her with possessiveness.

Loved her with madness.

Sakura's body was young and sweet, like nubile fruit, just on the verge of being fully ripe.

That was exactly how Sasuke liked them, and that was _exactly_ how he liked his pink haired wife.

Sakura eyed Sasuke warily. He was silent for a very long moment, but there was something stirring in those dark eyes that reminded her body of how sensitive she was to his touch.

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered his name, but her voice trailed off.

The breathless way she spoke somehow cut into Sasuke's thoughts, for he blinked, his desire for her momentarily abated.

He frowned instead. He was quite sure there was a 50% chance that he could touch Sakura now and have her melt.

But there was still that other 50% chance that he got pummeled for his efforts. Sakura was kind of scary sometimes, and even though he had never had to feel the brunt of her rage, he was certainly getting some of her anger today.

It was possible that she could flip like a switch and punch him.

"What do you want to know? If you want to leave, _go_. I'm not stopping you."

His tone was hard, cold almost.

Sakura watched him carefully despite this. She was an intelligent girl with fantastic analytical skills. She was going to put her talents to use now.

"Is that what you want, Sasuke-kun?"

She saw a slight twitch of his jaw, but it could have been her imagination.

"Yes," was the hard response.

Sakura took a step closer to him. With wide green eyes, she asked, "Are you willing to let me just walk through that door, and never come back?"

He clenched his fists and turned away. She could practically hear him speak through clenched teeth, "Yes,"

Sakura was silent for a moment.

"Okay," she finally spoke and walked over to her suitcase that was on the bed. Maybe Sasuke half-expected to her to not so readily agree. A bit baffled by her behaviour, it was on the tip of his tongue to refute.

However, pride held him back from saying anything. Sakura pulled the zipper around the suitcase, slapped her hand on top of it and turned to Sasuke.

"I'm ready to go Sasuke-kun."

"Fine."

There wasn't a trace of hesitancy on her face. However, there was hesitancy in _him_. Watching her now, he asked carefully, "What will you tell your parents?" It was the only place she had to return to.

Sakura shrugged, then smiled.

"The truth. Nothing less."

Because Sakura was an honest girl.

Or _was_ she?

She was good at hiding what she felt. He had come to realize this over the past couple of weeks. Sometimes her smiles were so fake. He could often sense wariness in her. Before, he would dismiss it, because he simply didn't understand.

However, he knew the truth now.

The sickening truth:

She thought he would kill her without a second thought if she became that insignificant to him.

_What a foolish woman_, he thought.

"But before I go Sasuke-kun," she continued, still smiling.

Now, something was off. There was something about the way she was beaming at him that didn't seem right.

"Yes?" he prompted, cautious now. His guard was up.

And he was good for doing so because her face immediately became an angry mask with eyes that spat green fire.

Her hand that was on the suitcase formed a fist as she glared at Sasuke.

"You better tell me what the hell is going on."

* * *

He wanted to tsk badly and tell her to just go.

Sasuke had a feeling that he shouldn't click his tongue and dismiss her. After all, that was a problem, wasn't it?

It was this sort of shoddy behavior that landed him like this.

"You owe me, Sasuke Uchiha. You never struck me as a man who liked to be debt to anyone."

He narrowed his eyes at her. This alone showed how much he loathed the thought of having to owe anyone anything.

"I owe you nothing."

"You broke our agreement: we got married for the purpose of having children, something you didn't mind browbeating into me last night. Yet, here you are telling me that you've been doing a birth control jutsu. You broke our contract. You owe me for the damages I incurred because of this."

"What damages did you incur?" he demanded, irritated with her choice of words.

Sakura looked at him with pain filled green eyes, which was a stark contrast to the angry fiery green embers she spat at him before.

She turned to her suitcase.

"Damages to my heart," she whispered in response.

* * *

Sakura sensed a mood change in Sasuke. She half expected him to tell her she was annoying, and to just leave.

However, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and rocked back on his heels. It was almost as if he was..._dwaddling._

As if he was unsure, uncertain.

He pressed flat onto his feet again. His head was lowered so that his bangs covered most of his face.

Then, slowly, he lifted his dark eyes to her.

A little emboldened, she pressed on in a soft voice, "You told me you didn't want anyone else to have me. Is that true?"

He gave a slight nod.

As if coaxing a wild animal, she gently prodded, "How?"

Sasuke suddenly turned his head the other way.

However, she could make out the reddening of the top of his ear that was exposed to her, as if he was embarrassed.

"It was Naruto's fault. And yours," he accused in an almost sour tone.

Sakura blinked twice.

"Eh?"

Sasuke turned his attention to her.

"Hn...he did some kind of perverted jutsu and you got all stupid."

Sakura cocked her head to the side and raised a perfectly arched pink eyebrow.

"Eh? What are you talking about Sasuke-kun? Did I hit Naruto for turning his shadow clones into a bunch of naked women?"

Sakura was clearly confused.

Sasuke scowled at her.

"No, his reverse harem jutsu-the one where he changes into a bunch of naked _men_."

Sakura went silent.

She knew very well about that jutsu.

But what did that have to do with anything?

"Your nose was bleeding," Sasuke added, his tone hinting disgust.

Sakura watched him keenly.

"Sasuke-kun," she began carefully, noting how sour his mood had become.

"What?"

She almost smiled because he sounded like he was pouting.

"When did Naruto use that jutsu?"

"Sometime after the village decided I was mentally stable and let me wander around freely."

That was quite recently.

Sakura was silent for a long moment.

So was Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun," she began again.

"What?" he snapped once more, clearly irritated.

"The last time I saw Naruto use that jutsu was three years ago, during the war."

Sasuke's eyes shot to hers. It was the only indication of his surprise.

Sakura smiled kindly.

"It looks like Naruto tricked you Sasuke-kun. He turned one of his shadow clones into me and made it look like I was drooling over those naked guys."

Sasuke almost swayed.

This was a blow to his pride!

Had he fallen so low to have been fooled by that cheap trick?!

"No," he whispered. His uncharacteristic look of shock was almost amusing. However, Sakura held back her soft chuckle. That would only serve to ruffle him.

Slowly, cautiously, Sakura approached him.

His bewildered state was cut when he felt his wife take hold of one of his hands in between her two smaller ones. Her presence was very gentle, her touch almost soothing.

With kind emerald eyes, she looked up at her husband.

"Shall we talk about it more?"

Something inside him couldn't refuse.

In fact, he _didn't_ want to refuse. He knew that this could bring about change for the better for them both. He cared enough about Sakura to try, but...

"I don't know how to put things into words, Sakura," he confessed.

Sakura's face was showed tenderness as she looked up at him. She placed her warm hand on his cool cheek. He was like winter sometimes, cold to the touch.

Yet, whenever his wife occasionally gave him just a tiny bit of affection, he felt himself warm up. And just this little gesture was starting to make him feel a bit more human.

She gently stroked his face. His black bangs were so long that a strand of it shifted with her soothing movements.

"Sasuke-kun, I want to stay, but I want a reason to do so. If our marriage matters to you, if _I_ matter in any way to you..."

Her voice trailed off when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders roughly.

Sternly he informed her, "You matter!"

His dark eyes had an unusual fierceness in them, as if willing her to believe him. It dawned on her that his behavior stemmed from his new knowledge that she thought she was insignificant to him.

Realizing his confession, his cheeks went red and he released her. Turning away, he muttered, "You matter to me."

Sakura felt herself grow very shy at his admission.

"I...oh," she murmured.

The atmosphere became very awkward. Or at least Sasuke did. He shoved his hands into his pockets again.

"Sakura, look at me," he ordered.

She obeyed and lifted vivid green eyes to meet his dark ones.

However, they were no longer that black color alone, they had changed to a bright red.

Sasuke had his sharingan on.

"Sasuke-kun?"

In response, the three commas in his eyes began to spin and the world began to bleed black around her.

"I don't know what to say, so I will show you instead," he said to her.

* * *

_As if looking through a black and white television set that showed only the color red, Sakura found herself staring at Naruto and Sasuke as they walked down the street. Both were wearing regular ninja gear, as if they had just come back from a mission. _

_He looked at Sasuke rather slyly. _

"_Hey Sasuke, what do you think of Sakura-chan?"_

_Sasuke slid his eyes to his friend. _

"_What about her?"_

_Naruto frowned. "What do you mean 'what about her'? She's become very pretty, hasn't she?"_

_The blonde's voice had a hint of deviousness in it. _

_Sasuke shrugged. _

_Naruto became agitated. _

"_Come on Sasuke! Haven't you see her?! She's beautiful!"_

_Sasuke shrugged. _

"_Then date her."_

"_If she had feelings for me, I would have done so a long time ago! And anyways, I have Hinata now. She's so pretty, she's got such long dark hair and such-hey, where are you going?!" Naruto demanded as Sasuke walked off. _

"_I don't want to hear you mooning over your girlfriend."_

"_I am **not** mooning over her! And anyway, you can't ignore Sakura-chan, can you?" Naruto pressed as he caught up with Sasuke and threw an arm around his friend. Grinning like a troll, "I've seen you walking her home. You look **adoooorable** together."_

_Sasuke glared at Naruto and proceeded to throw his arm from him._

_Naruto recoiled and rubbed his arm as if badly wounded. _

"_Ouch! You're so mean, Sasuke!"_

"_Go away Naruto," Sasuke shot back as he shoved his hands in his pockets and proceeded on. _

"_She could fall for someone else you know!"_

_Sasuke shrugged._

"_Oh, you don't believe me? Don't you think her heart would make place for romance with another guy, other than you? She's capable of loving someone else!" Naruto taunted._

"_Whatever dobe."_

"_Here she comes, I'll show you!" Naruto called behind him._

_Sasuke paused because sure enough, Sakura came walking down the road with a bright smile on her face. _

_Before she could properly wave to them, a bunch of handsome, naked men who had bodies that would put a male model's shame, appeared before her with only puffs of white clouds blocking their privates._

_Sakura's face became stunned._

_Her jaw dropped open._

_And a thin trail of blood ran down her nose. _

"_W-What?!"_

_Then, she seemed to try to get angry. _

"_Naruto! What do you think you're doing?!"she screamed. _

_The men disappeared in poofs and Naruto was left looking uncomfortable. He was standing a short distance in front of Sasuke now, because he had also changed in the jutsu. _

"_Ah hahaha...ah Sakura-chan..."_

_She lifted her hands and cracked her knuckles. _

"_You're gonna pay for that!"_

_Naruto turned and dashed off. He paused only to whisper fiercely to Sasuke, "See what I mean? She's attracted to other guys!"_

"_Naruto!" Sakura yelled._

"_Bye!" Naruto exclaimed and hurried off._

* * *

Sakura blinked as the world around her, this memory of Sasuke's that he showed her with his sharingan, dissipated. She was gazing up at her handsome husband.

"He really tricked you," were the first words that left her mouth.

Sasuke's mouth twisted because clearly didn't like the fact that Naruto had bested him like this.

"I was never there that day. He really changed one of his shadow clones into me."

A moment of silence passed between the both of them.

Sakura hesitated but she took one of her husband's hands in her own again. He never really rejected her during the few times she had been brave enough to show him tiny bits of affection. She had never realized that before.

Still wary that he might push her away from having physical contact with him, she decided holding his hand was enough for now.

She looked at him meaningfully and while quite embarrassed, she admitted, "I can't deny that had Naruto used that jutsu on me, I would have reacted the same way. Shockingly, he's quite an actor,"

She sensed Sasuke became irritated at her words.

With a gentler tone, she also added with a smile, "But if I saw you, none of those men would have had an impact on me. Even in a crowd of the most handsome men, you stand out for me, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke lifted his free hand and very lightly, almost as if afraid, he brushed his knuckle on her cheek. However, he quickly lowered his hand.

Sakura noted this.

It seemed that it was possible that Sasuke didn't really know much about tenderness. That could be an explanation for his often stoic attitude toward her. His physical contact with her outside of sex tended to be brief, and although it held a touch of familiarity, there wasn't much intimacy.

"Thank you for that," Sasuke murmured.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. She was surprised at his words.

His hand that was in between her own moved slightly so that he could cautiously take hold of one of hers.

Sakura silently encouraged him by tightening her grip, and he responded by doing the same.

"Naruto woke me up I suppose. He showed me that you could fall for someone else. That's when I realized I didn't want anyone else to have you."

"I didn't know," she murmured.

"I didn't want to say it."

Because he would have been embarrassed.

However, the very fact that he was standing before her, admitting these things to her made Sakura realize that her husband was swallowing a lot of his pride to come clean to her. It took a lot for him to say these words, and she appreciated it.

"Is that why you married me?"

"Naruto said you had a fanclub."

Sakura was well aware that Sasuke would probably not admit everything in his heart, so she needed to actually read into what he was saying.

She understood that this meant that Naruto telling him she had a fanclub, meant that lots of guys were lining up for a chance with her. He didn't want to waste anymore time lest someone snatch her away from him.

Ironic that she had felt the same way about his fangirls.

Only, she had been careful because she didn't want to tread on the line of the uneasy friendship they had established. Sasuke was probably aware that she still had deep feelings for him, and he probably took for granted that she always would.

"Then why did you say that you wanted me to have your children?"

He shrugged.

"That's how Uchihas propose to women."

Sakura looked as confused as Naruto had when he had stated that fact.

The pink haired woman frowned.

"That's a funny way of proposing to someone, Sasuke-kun."

"The Uchiha clan valued children. When an Uchiha man proposes to a woman, especially outside of the clan, it's usually because she has some talent he wants his children to have as well. It's a big compliment and was once thought of as a great honor."

That explained a lot.

"I didn't know that."

Sasuke shrugged again. "Not many people remember."

Because the clan was killed off long ago, except for Sasuke. Most people would remember them by their power, and not by their habits.

"But you told me just now that you actually don't care for children. I don't understand. You lied to me Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke had a faraway look in his eyes, as if his thoughts were elsewhere.

After a long moment, he finally answered, "Any child I have will be powerful. There are lots of men like Orochimaru out there. They may even be discriminated because of the sharingan. Itachi might have tried to make me a hero, and clean the Uchiha name for the new generation, but there are still people out there who think it's tainted and cursed."

Orochimaru had wanted Sasuke for his sharingan.

"Maybe it's best to not subject any children of mine to a life like that."

Sakura tilted her head to the side and observed Sasuke.

"You don't really mean that, do you?"

He glanced at her.

"Children aren't important to me. If they come along, that's fine. I just proposed to you the way the men in my clan used to."

"But the birth control jutsu?"

"It was wrong, but I wanted you to myself for as long as possible. There's a special jutsu that a man can do on himself to prevent himself from impregnating a woman."

It clicked with Sakura then.

She knew about that jutsu!

The realization came through in her voice as she spoke, "That's why you turn away from me after we have sex, isn't it? The condition for that particular jutsu to work is that you cast it before sexual intercourse, and afterward, you have to remove contact from your partner for a few minutes, otherwise the body's hormones will trigger a release upon physical contact and tamper with the jutsu's effectiveness."

Sasuke nodded. Sakura was truly a great medic for not many people were aware of the existence of the jutsu. It was highly unpopular because most people liked to snuggle with their significant other after a round or two of good old banging.

"Sasuke-kun, let me get this straight: you asked me to marry you to have children, but that wasn't your intent because what you were really trying to do is not let anyone else have me," Sakura said very slowly.

Sasuke gave a short nod.

"I shouldn't have deceived you," he said. She knew this was his way of saying 'I'm sorry.'

Sakura looked a little sorrowful as she smiled bitterly.

"I married you for the same reason. I was afraid of you, but I agreed to get married because I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having you. We're both even, Sasuke-kun."

Sakura's hands on his moved. She threaded her fingers through his and lifted up their joined hands.

_Many years ago, in a place known as the Forest of Death, Sasuke Uchiha had been kneeling on the ground, screaming in pain because of the cursed seal mark that had been forced onto him by Orochimaru._

_But a hand threaded through his. Smaller, more girlish fingers were touching his. It was soft, it was feminine._

_But it wasn't enough to give him any respite from his suffering. Still, somewhere, in some part of his mind, he acknowledged the touch of his teammate, and his heart was given out to her consideration, her concern for him._

Sasuke and Sakura shared a similar complexion, however, there was a certain tone about their skin that also made them dissimilar.

One could note this when looking at their joined hands: Sakura's smaller, more feminine hand that was endowed with long, slender fingers had a healthy sheen to it, adding to its lustre.

Sasuke's hands also had long fingers. However, Sasuke's complexion was pale, but there was something attractive about his still. His hands were larger than Sakura's, and bore the callouses and scars of a man who had fought too many battles.

One could almost feel power course through this person. It was enough to make a person cautious.

In this moment, Sasuke and Sakura simply looked at each other.

Green eyes met black as there was one question that lingered in the air. It was left unspoken, needed to be answered.

_Where did they go from here?_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for taking a while to update. Normally if I don't post in a timely manner, it's because I'm a little too busy. It doesn't mean I have forgotten about the story! Anyway, hope you enjoyed! **

**PS: Am I the only one hyping over the latest Naruto chapter. At first I was like, "Aww...Kishi just disappointed us with Sasusaku again.." and then, THAT moment! OMG! Sorry, I don't really have anyone to fangirl with. **

**My OTPs are normally what seems to most likely be cannon. I think Sasusaku are. There was a lot between Sasuke and Sakura in Part I, and even though they tried to kill each other in Part II, I think that actually speaks a lot. Not in a twisted sort of way, but in a way that is meant to kind of get the characters to grow up a bit. **

**Or maybe, Sakura could die. There's something about how a cherry blossom's life is shortlived. It blooms and then it dies (correct me if I'm wrong, or maybe someone can elaborate). What if Sakura dies?**

**I don't mean to alarm anyone...**

* * *

**Thanks for reading. God bless :)**


	8. Making Decisions

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**A/N: I hadn't realized that I hadn't updated in nearly two weeks. Sorry, time flies and I don't seem to realize anymore. Anyway, please enjoy :)**

* * *

**Trust**

**Chapter 8: Making Decisions**

* * *

_She was in a dark room with a single bed. She lay on her side, clad in nothing but a set of black panties and bra. Her long, fair legs were exposed, along with her flat toned stomach, and those slender arms of hers._

_She felt hot, sticky. The room was humid._

_Suffocating almost._

_The door to the room was open, but only darkness pervaded. _

_Slowly, ever so slowly, something slithered. She could hear it, even though it was a bare whisper._

_Something huge, sliding toward her._

_It was massive._

_Her ears that had been fine-tuned to catch every little sound could pick this up._

_Sheer terror gripped her._

_The bed became depressed with its weight as it approached her. _

_She could feel its cold touch on her skin as its heavy body moved her, almost in a silent caress. Easily, it wrapped around her. She could feel its weight on her stomach. _

_It could **kill** her._

_Damage her._

_**Murder** her._

_For this reason, she dared not move until she understood the serpent's intentions._

_But suddenly, the room lightened up. A dim glow was cast, chasing away the pitch darkness. Then, it dawned on her that she was no longer wrapped by a cold snake._

_No; what she felt now was a warm, feathery touch. As if around her was a large bird with powerful wings._

_**Hawk**._

_Yes, somehow, that seemed fitting._

_Slowly, she looked over her shoulder, have expecting to see a feathered beast._

_Those emerald orbs widened instead at the sight of the handsome man behind her._

_It was her husband who was eying her silently._

"_Sakura," he voiced her name. She loved the way it rolled off his tongue. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun," she whispered._

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes slowly.

She had to blink a few times before she remembered where she was; she was home, in her parents' house. Then, she sensed a dark brooding presence.

Her eyes shot to the window, and to her shock, there sat her husband on the large window sill, looking like some predator in the night.

He was dressed in his ANBU gear with that armless black shirt and the body armour. He had two swords on his back.

In the moonlight, he looked like some powerful, unworldly warrior.

"S-Sasuke-kun? What are you doing?" she demanded in a whisper.

"You ran away," he stated bluntly.

Her cheeks flushed as she became agitated.

"I did not run away!" she hissed lowly.

Sasuke slowly unfolded himself from the window so that both his feet landed silently on the carpeted floor of her room.

Like a panther, a large, sleek, graceful cat, he wandered over to her. He paused in front of her and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You did," he said once more.

"I did not!"

He cocked his head to the side.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because I don't want my parents to know you're here!"

He frowned. "Did you tell them we fought?"

She glared at him.

"Of course not! My dad's old fashioned, he mightn't take too kindly to a guy being in my room!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"That's stupid, Sakura. We're married."

"I can't help that!" she whispered aloud again while glancing uncomfortably to the door. Noting this, Sasuke calmly walked over to it.

And locked it.

"What did you do that for?!" she demanded.

He glanced at her from over his shoulder. "You seemed worried that someone would walk in,"

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Now you're talking loudly," he added.

She scowled.

Sasuke folded his arms and leaned against the door. Dark eyes took in his wife's beautiful figure that was clad in a thin, white nightgown.

On this humid night, it was likely she wore nothing put a pair of lacy panties underneath.

Or maybe nothing at all.

He gritted his teeth when he felt desire surge in him at the thought.

"Sasuke-kun?" she voiced his name, clearly concerned about his tense silence.

He released a heavy sigh.

"I asked you to stay."

Sakura blushed.

"I didn't think you would be back so soon...and...and..."

"Even if I did, you didn't think I would come after you," he finished off.

* * *

_They had been unable to say anything to each other for a long moment. Before either of them could speak, a bird squawked at the window. Startled, the pair turned to see a small, brown hawk there. It belonged to Sasuke, and it had become a regular way of the Hokage communicating with the last Uchiha._

_Sasuke let go of her hand and walked over to the window. He took the note that was attached to his bird's foot._

_Then, he calmly folded it. After giving the bird a quick, affectionate stroke on the head, it flew off. _

"_Sasuke-kun?"_

"_Emergency came up. I need to take this mission," he informed her as he headed to the wardrobe and pulled out his ANBU gear._

_Sakura watched silently as he stripped off his Leaf vest and the black shirt underneath. His muscles rippled as he dragged on his armless shirt and armour. _

_Snapping herself out of her daze and hoping she didn't drool, her mouth turned downward slightly in disappointment. _

_She didn't want him to go._

_Suddenly, she felt a heavy hand on her head. Glancing up, she saw Sasuke. Although his expression remained serious, he told her, "Stay," and then he left._

* * *

"I was lonely," she admitted helplessly. It had been a trying night. There had been so much pressure built up until it finally exploded.

She didn't think she could bear to be alone. She needed to be home, to have the warmth of her parents distract her. Sure, they were suffocating.

But they loved her, and she needed that from them tonight.

Sasuke looked at her.

"Then you were planning to come back?"

"I said I didn't run away," she reminded him. Although, she had to admit, a part of her had wanted for him to secretly think she did. All this was contingent on him coming home unexpectedly earlier of course.

She wasn't disappointed with the result.

He reached down and caught her arm.

"Let's go."

Sakura tried to pull away.

"What? Where?!"

He stopped tugging at her to respond from over his shoulder.

"Home-_our_ home."

Sakura blushed. He had never acknowledged the house where they lived in as theirs, and she couldn't think of it as 'home.' Quite often, this made her feel displaced. Now, hearing him refer to the placed they lived in as something that belonged to them both, she didn't feel so much like that anymore.

"Sasuke-kun, I would like to come, but I just can't leave my parents at this hour! They'll want to know what's wrong!"

"Tell them your husband picked you up."

"Through the window? They won't understand!"

Sasuke shrugged.

"We're shinobi," he pointed out, meaning that he believed they should understand that shinobi sometimes resorted to unconventional means of entry and exit.

"They're civilians!"

Sasuke grunted. He was clearly irritated.

As Sakura freed her arm from his grasp, she shyly suggested, "You could stay here with me,"

He frowned.

"Won't they think it strange?"

"You can sneak out in the morning."

Sasuke felt annoyed now.

"You're my wife. Why do I have to sneak around with you like a horny teenager?"

Sakura smiled.

"I guess not many parents, especially dads, like the idea of their little girls having sex."

Especially hers. Her father was a nice man, but he was a bit overbearing sometimes.

Sasuke turned and with dark eyes that seemed to flare, he gave her a slow, probing look that made her go red from the tips of her toes to the roots of her pink hair.

She knew that look.

Sasuke had been communicating with her through sex since they married, so it was quite clear to her that he wanted her right now.

She looked like a nymph to him.

A beautiful, exotic, pink haired nymph whose body was ripe for loving. Those peach-like breasts seemed to almost swell under his scrutiny, and long for his touch.

Her skin seemed to beg for his tongue to taste it.

And he wanted to-he wanted to _eat_ her badly.

He reached for her again and caught her bare shoulders in his large hands. He dragged her upward to meet his mouth.

Sakura gave in under the pressure of his warm lips. His tongue plundered the depths of hers and she whimpered as it slid slowly over her own.

Ah, he was going to make her melt...slowly, he would seduce her with his hands and his mouth, and then he would-

"**Stop**!" she gasped and tore her mouth from his. Using her hands, she pushed at his chest, trying to get away, but he held her fast.

For the first time in many years, she saw Sasuke look genuinely surprised.

The annoyed as he narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

Sakura shook her head and pushed hard enough to get away from him.

"We can't."

"What do you mean we can't?" he demanded and caught her elbows, pulling her toward him.

"It's my parents' house-"

"You're my _wife_!" he snapped and kissed her again.

This man had control over her. He could overpower her, sexually dominate her. Whenever he embraced her, she could feel how strong, how absolutely _powerful_ he was.

His grip on her loosened as his hands slid to her waist and fisted into her flimsy nightgown.

"Take it off," he whispered hotly in her ear. Then, he nipped her earlobe a little hard, enough to make her moan in pleasure-pain. "Or I'll _tear_ it off," he threatened.

No, she had to get a grip! If she let him make love to her now, then they wouldn't be going anywhere.

"No!" she gasped and this time, she used her chakra to give her enough strength to shove him away.

Sasuke glared at her while she breathed hard and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. His expression softened into a scowl, almost like a pout.

"Why are you acting like this?" he demanded.

"We haven't finished sorting things out between us," she responded. With fierce green eyes, she stated, "I _want_ to stay married to you, Sasuke-kun. I want to learn to trust you, to not fear you, but if it is that the only time you come in contact with me is because you want to have sex, then I can't accept that. This can't be our only form of communication."

Sasuke frowned.

"I'm not good with talking," he admitted.

Sakura watched him quite seriously now.

"Do you want to stay married to me Sasuke-kun?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

"Don't give me sarcastic answers!" she snapped.

He was taken aback by her tone.

She was the one glaring now.

"If this marriage means anything to you, Sasuke-kun, _anything-_then you need to learn to communicate with me. You don't need to talk my ears off, but you could spend more time with me."

"Are you going to hold off sex on me?" he questioned. He had heard stories from some of the older men about how their wives wouldn't let them into their beds because they were upset over something.

Sakura eyed him uneasily.

"If I did, would you go to someone else for it?"

He looked genuinely offended at her words.

Catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he forced her head upward so that she could stare directly into his obsidian eyes.

"Don't ever-_ever_ think that I would dishonour a marriage vow like that," he warned coldly.

A part of Sakura was glad, thrilled by his tone.

Another part of her was doubtful.

When he released her, she gave him a wary look.

"You can't blame me for asking, Sasuke-kun. You said you deceived me when you said you wanted us to have children, so then that leaves me the question about whether or not the purpose of this marriage is for you to use me as a sexual outlet."

"Wouldn't that be the same thing for you then? You married me, not trusting me and while being afraid of me. I wanted you because I didn't want anyone else to have you. You admitted your reason was the same."

"Yes, that is true," she conceded, "but the difference is that I love you, Sasuke-kun."

The room fell silent for a long time, but she sensed that Sasuke's ire had eased up.

"I didn't marry you just to have sex with you," he confessed quietly. He turned and walked over to the window, as he was well aware that Sakura's mind was made up on this matter.

He was smart person, so he could see the logic in her argument.

"But that's what it boils down to, doesn't it?" she remarked as he hopped onto the window sill.

There was a bit of sadness in her voice.

Sasuke stooped on the window sill. He now met her at eye level.

"Would it matter if I said I didn't want anyone else?" he asked her.

Sakura had her hands clasped in front of her almost demurely.

When Sasuke thought back on it, he knew he had caused her to shed many tears over the years. He always acted like it hadn't mattered that he had made her cry the night he had left the village and that for certain, he had caused her more sadness ever since.

He was also aware that she was good at hiding up her feelings. He had seen in the Forest of Death when she had lied to Naruto about why her hair was shorn off. He had known that she had faked her smiles when she married him.

He really did want her to be honest with him. She mattered enough for him to want her to be comfortable enough with him to not pretend that she was happy, when in fact she wasn't. He wanted her to _trust_ him that much.

He wasn't sure if he could be called a hypocrite as he didn't really show emotion. It wasn't like he deliberately hid how he felt.

It was simply that years of training had given him the habit of not showing it.

"It matters," she admitted, and he heard the sincerity in her voice.

She looked up at him now. Her cheeks were slightly red.

"Does Sasuke-kun want this marriage to work?" she asked softly, as if to a child.

Keeping his eyes on hers, he gave a small nod.

"I can't promise it will be like your parents'," he warned.

Sakura's parents were often together. They were a bit boisterous, a bit suffocating and kind of annoying too. Especially Sasuke's father-in-law.

But they were good people. They loved each other.

Anyone could see that.

Sakura smiled.

"I don't expect it to be," she assured him.

He grunted.

"Sasuke-kun, what was your parents' marriage like?" Sakura queried.

He frowned.

He wasn't too sure himself. It was a long time ago and he had buried the memory of them because it always brought up pain.

However, thinking back on it, he able to form a response, "My dad was kind of...quiet. He spent more time with Itachi. They didn't touch each other a lot in front of us, but my mom understood my dad very well."

Sakura was surprised that Sasuke was willing to divulge so much about his parents.

"Did they love each other?"

Sasuke frowned slightly before he gave a short nod.

"I think so."

_Without asking, Mikoto Uchiha always knew when her husband wanted tea. Sometimes she would look at him with a special kind of softness. There were times when his father was in a bad mood and she would just know._

_She would usher her two sons out of the room, and probably have Itachi take Sasuke out. Maybe she spoke to her husband about whatever soured his mood?_

_It was likely because when Itachi and Sasuke came home, their father would be back to normal. Fugaku Uchiha had been a bit of a stoic man._

_In that sense, Sasuke was very much like him._

_Yet, there was an occasion when Sasuke had been very small. Perhaps he had been a toddler, for the memory was so vague. All he remembered was that his parents had been speaking loudly. Only later on did he realized that they had been arguing._

_He walked into the kitchen, and perhaps they had made up for Mikoto Uchiha's slender body was being held tightly against her husband's as he kissed her deeply._

Hesitantly, Sakura used her small hand to cover Sasuke's cheek.

Even if she didn't use her power, there was a feeling of healing in her gentle touch. Sasuke almost closed his eyes at her small, affectionate gesture.

"Could you learn to love me?" she asked.

Sasuke blinked.

Yes, this was very important to her, wasn't it?

Without warning, he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and tugged her to him. He used one hand to cover her mouth to stop her from gasping.

She whimpered behind his hold as his mouth attached her neck, nipping one particularly sensitive area, sucking insistently upon it.

When he released her, he told her seriously, "Yes, but you'll have to learn to trust me and not fear me,"

Fair was fair after all.

Sakura, stunned by his abrupt actions, could only nod.

Satisfied, he gave her a brief, hard kiss before he slowly released her.

Noting how flushed her face was, with her lips swollen and bruised, as she covered the place on her neck he had given attention to, he smirked.

Oh, she was just ready to be embraced him!

But she made this decision to hold off on him. He could see that there was strong desire stirring in her. He could almost _smell_ it.

Almost vengefully, he was glad that she was going to suffer for choosing to hold back on him, just as he was suffering for her soft, sweet body.

"Later," he told her and disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know your thoughts on it. **

**Also, to Kari who asked: ****'Will the story long? And how many chapters?' I want to make it a bit long, and at least 15 chapters. It could be more, it could be less. It all depends on how I'm writing, what I'm writing and what ideas I come up with. Hope this answer helps :)**

**Thanks for all the support. I truly appreciate it. **

**God bless :)**


	9. Kisses

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

_**A/N: How do you say 'father-in-law' in Japanese? How does one refer to his/her father-in-law? If anyone knows this answer, I would appreciate a response. Thank you. **_

* * *

**Trust**

**by chickypeg**

_**Chapter 9: Kisses**_

* * *

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing home?" Sakura asked, quite stunned to see her husband in the kitchen. She had just come in from her parents' home, and she had expected to find her own house empty.

Lately, Sasuke was called out on assignments on Saturday mornings. Mostly to do some escort missions for a particular lord who had been granted refuge in Konoha, and who visited other villages on weekends for peace purposes.

Sasuke was eating a bowl of bran cereal. He didn't really like sweet things. However, cereal could be quite convenient on occasion, so he kept a box of a less sugary type.

Sasuke finished chewing the mouthful of the bland food before shrugging.

"The feudal lord had to be taken home on an emergency. That was the mission last night."

Sakura walked over to the table and stood behind the chair that was opposite to his.

"Oh, so that's why you're home today?"

Sasuke nodded and spooned some more cereal into his mouth. She knew her husband was quite capable of fixing a proper breakfast, but she had a feeling that he was probably feeling too lazy to do that this morning and that was why he had settled for such a boring meal.

Hiding up a smile, she offered, "Would you like me to make some pancakes?"

She observed the way his hand that was holding his spoon in the cereal paused. Then, he nodded, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Sakura was learning to read in a little more about her husband based on his actions. She had a feeling that he really wanted those pancakes.

Sasuke looked up when he saw his wife standing beside him. He could smell her sweet feminine fragrance, and he could sense the softness of her beautiful body.

She smiled at him, perhaps a little shyly.

"What?"

Her cheeks went red.

"Will you...kiss me?" she requested. They had both agreed to work on things between them, so this was a start.

Right?

Sasuke, not missing a beat, shoved another spoon of cereal in his mouth.

"No," he responded flatly while chewing a mouthful of his food.

Sakura was stunned by his response.

"Wha-? You're horrible Sasuke!" she cried as she spun on her heel and strode over to the refrigerator. She pulled out eggs and milk and placed a carton of eggs under her arm before she moved to the counter.

His refusal to kiss her really struck at her. Although she was trying to pan it off as nothing, she really was hurt.

She fought vainly to hide her emotions because she believed that he would think her silly.

This also made her feel like everything they had discussed, the fight last night, her leaving temporarily, had all been for nothing.

She picked up a large bowl and began to crack the eggs in them. Tears had gathered around the corner of her eyes.

She was glad her back was to Sasuke's gaze.

"I'll kiss you when you're done with the pancakes."

Sakura blinked away her tears, as the brief, sharp wound in her heart quickly healed.

"You're so mean Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura stiffened when she suddenly felt her husband's large body behind her own. He didn't touch her at all as he leaned around her to place the bowl he had been eating from in the sink.

All the fine hairs on her back began to stand straight, just from his presence alone. After their wedding night, she had become very well acquainted with his body, and unconsciously, she was crying out for him.

Last night, after he had left, she had regretted placing a temporary ban on their sex lives. She hadn't been able to sleep well for her dreams had been plagued of being in his arms as he made love to her. Only for her to awaken and know he wasn't there.

And her young body that was so hungry for his, was left unsatisfied.

Sakura went rigid when his hand reached around her. She felt his fingertip lightly brush the red mark he had placed on her neck last night.

It still throbbed pleasurably, and it certainly hadn't helped to appease that longing for him.

It didn't help either that her mother had questioned her about it.

_Sakura was heading to the door. _

"_Why do you have that mark on your neck, Sakura dear?" her mother asked her as she headed to the door. _

_Sakura froze. _

"_I left my window open last night...a mosquito must have flown in."_

"_Oh, is that so?"_

_Sakura nodded. _

"_Yes, it was a big one."_

"What are you doing?" Sakura demanded as the hickey burned almost under his light touch.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked somewhere above her ear.

"Very well," she responded as she cracked another egg, hoping to freeze him off.

"Liar," he accused and slowly traced his finger down the middle of her chest. His other hand was now placed on the other side of the counter beside her, effectively trapping her.

"What are you doing?" she gasped when he reached her belly button. He lightly poked at it through her clothing.

In response, Sasuke nipped her bare shoulder and used his tongue to bathe the little wound he caused. His wife whimpered under his touch.

She was glad another egg wasn't in her hands, otherwise she would have crushed it to bits.

"No, don't," she whispered as his hand moved further, covering that special heated place.

As Sasuke rubbed slowly, ensuring that the friction aroused her, he whispered hotly in her ear, "Why not?"

"I said we wouldn't-"

"You placed a ban on the act of sex. This isn't sex-it's foreplay," he pointed out and now slid his hand into her pants, so that he could touch her directly.

Sakura cried out.

She wanted to grab his hand and pull it out from her shorts, but her own were messed up with eggs.

Another part of her wanted to leave it right there for his slow, sensual stroking was making her feel so good.

More, she wanted _more_...

Abruptly, Sasuke released her.

She spun around when she saw him heading back to the table.

"W-What are you doing? Why did you stop?!"

He shrugged.

"You said no sex."

"You said it was foreplay!"

"It leads to sex."

"You started it!" she shouted, wanting to hit him with an egg right now for being such an asshole!

"Payback," was his answer.

Sakura's mouth dropped open.

"You mean you did that as revenge? For the sex ban?" she demanded.

He didn't reply.

Sakura's face went red, possibly with rage.

Or lust.

Or both.

"You're a bastard, Sasuke Uchiha," she hissed.

He smirked at her, and he looked so damned sexy when he did that!

"Hey bastard! Sakura-chan!" came a voice from the window.

They turned to see Naruto's face in the window beside the kitchen table. He seemed to be googling at them like a child watching a pair of animals in a cage at the zoo.

"What's wrong with you men? Don't you know how to use a door?" Sakura demanded as she walked over to the window and opened it.

Thank goodness he hadn't seen what had just transpired between the pair.

Naruto grinned as he stepped in, one foot at a time.

"Did you run away from your Hokage duties?" Sakura asked him.

Naruto grinned.

"Of course not! I wanted to discuss something with you both, and..." his voice trailed off when he spied the ingredients on the counter. "er...are you making something, Sakura-chan?"

She smiled kindly.

"Sit down. I'm making pancakes."

Naruto didn't need to be told twice.

Sakura placed a glass of orange juice in front of him, and also poured some for her husband.

"Sakura-chan is so nice," he complimented her.

"She just feels sorry for you because all you have is expired food in your cupboards," Sasuke pointed out.

"I do not have expired food! My ramen noodles are good for another three months!" Naruto declared.

"You're able to keep ramen noodles that long?" Sasuke was genuinely surprised. He expected that Naruto stocked up on them every week, and that was why it surprising that he had been able to keep any for so long.

"They were on sale!"

Sakura smiled at her husband and friend's banter as she got to making the pancakes.

"Your milk is always expired."

"I can't help that!"

Sasuke gave him a genuine look of pity.

"Does the Hyuga clan know what sort of guy they're giving their heiress to?"

"What do you mean? They love me I tell you!"

Sasuke shrugged.

"So they say."

"What does that mean?!"

* * *

"Er...Sasuke, why do your pancakes look different from mine?" Naruto whispered to his friend.

Indeed, the plates of food Sakura had placed before them were not exactly identical.

Naruto's were lovely golden brown.

Sasuke's were sort of..._black_.

"It's a different flavor," Sasuke responded. He would rather choke on his own spit than have to explain to Naruto that his wife had deliberately burned his pancakes because he got her all hot and bothered and hadn't satisfied her. Naruto would immediately conclude some rubbish like, _'You didn't satisfy her because you couldn't! The great Uchiha has become impotent!'_

Sakura smiled innocently as she seated herself opposite her husband. He gave her a quick glare in response.

"What kind of flavor," Naruto asked he was really interested now.

"The Uchiha flavor."

"Sounds nasty," Naruto said and shuddered.

Sasuke growled an expletive as a retort.

He cut into his pancakes and glared at its glorified blackness before he shoved it into his mouth. He wasn't going to allow his wife the satisfaction of knowing how much he loathed his black pancakes by refusing to eat them.

"You said there's something you want to discuss?" Sakura queried.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. I want us to go on a mission," Naruto responded.

"A mission?" Sakura repeated.

"Yeah. Sasuke, you, me, Kakashi-sensei."

"You're Hokage," Sakura pointed out.

"Eh? Just 'cause I'm the Hokage doesn't mean that I can't go on missions. There's no law against that," Naruto stated and shoved a huge mouthful of pancake in his mouth.

"Did you actually read the law?" Sasuke questioned.

"No."

Sakura sighed while Sasuke grunted.

Naruto wiped the his mouth with the back of sleeve before chugging down some juice. When he set down his glass, he said, "I asked granny about it and she said there's no law. Hokages are just busy with so many village matters that they rarely ever step out unless it's an emergency, or if they need to visit other villages for peace-keeping."

"So how come you have the time to go on a mission?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto grinned.

"Because I can have Baa-chan stand in for me."

"Shishou agreed to that?"

Sakura was quite stunned.

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke became suspicious then.

"What's this mission then?"

It had to be an emergency if Tsunnade was willing to step in as Hokage temporarily until Naruto returned.

"Well, you guys know that Hinata and I are getting married soon. We just need to set a wedding date."

"I thought you guys might have eloped."

"Why would the heck would you think that, Sasuke?!"

In a strong voice to cut through her comrades' bantering, Sakura snapped, "Just what does this mission have to do with your wedding?"

Naruto settled down. He folded his arms and began again:

"Hinata's dad told me that the Hyuga clan normally marries the heir or heiress off to the most suitable person from within the clan. If there's a person outside the clan who wants to marry, he or she has to prove themselves."

"Prove themselves?" Sakura repeated.

Naruto nodded.

"What does that mean? And you're the Hokage, of course you're suitable enough. Plus, Hinata has loved you for years!" the pink haired female protested.

"Yeah, he did say that because I'm Hokage, I'm more than perfect. But he also told me that it's sort of a tradition that something be done for me to prove myself. Since I'm Hokage, I can just order him to give me Hinata as a wife, but if I wanted, I can just go through with it for the challenge."

Sakura looked exasperated.

"And of course you wanted the challenge," she stated.

Naruto grinned.

"You idiot. How did you even get to be Hokage?" Sasuke demanded, as in his eyes, he thought it demeaning that as a Hokage, Hisashi even had the audacity to suggest that Naruto still go through with it.

"By accepting challenges," Naruto responded.

Sasuke gave him a lopsided frown.

"That's a surprisingly smart thing to say. Did you finally grow a brain?"

"Come here and say that bastard!"

"Naruto! Stop!" Sakura snapped, and he immediately quieted.

Sasuke smirked, until Sakura shot him a green eyed glared. "And stop provoking him!"

The Uchiha tsked and looked away. He clearly didn't like being berated like a child by his wife. Meanwhile, Naruto hung his head in shame.

They were both like brats with each other, and Sakura often had to scold them like a mother.

She took a deep breath before giving Naruto her attention again.

"So what exactly is this challenge for you to prove yourself, and what does this have to do with a mission, and why shishou even agreed to stand in as Hokage while you're gone?"

Naruto continued his explanation now:

"There were five challenges laid down, doing stuff like fighting a dragon, or going to the centre of the earth...but I figured I would take one that would be useful to everyone."

"And that one is?" Sakura prompted.

Naruto grinned wickedly.

"A treasure hunt."

* * *

Sakura focused on tidying up the dishes as Sasuke saw Naruto out. She could hear them arguing their way to the front door.

In a way, she was pleased that they would get to go out again as a team. They hadn't been able to do so ever since the blonde had become Hokage.

She didn't expect Sasuke to come back into the kitchen. On the days they were home at the same time, the only thing they ever actually did together was eat. Most of the time, Sasuke would either rest from his mission, go out and train, or if he was really bored, he would go find Naruto to heckle him.

As a couple, the pair didn't do anything together.

She wanted to ask him to spend time with her today, but she was still reeling a bit from the fact that he had so blatantly refused to kiss her. It was the first time she had come out and asked him for a tiny bit of affection, and he had outright rejected her.

He did say he would kiss her after she made the pancakes, but she had deliberately burned them in an act of revenge for _his_ revenge on her (really, did he have to go that far and fondle her?). Plus, Naruto had interrupted them.

It was quite certain that kissing her was the last thing on his agenda.

Well, that was what she thought, until Sasuke's hand unexpectedly caught her shoulder, and suddenly, his head lowered to his so that he gave her a quick, brief kiss. She felt his long bangs brush against her face as he drew back.

Sakura's face went red as she stared at her husband in shock.

"Hn, cat got your tongue now?"

"But..."

She was at a total loss for words.

Especially when he kissed her again. This time, it was slow and his tongue lightly stroked over the seam of her lips, coaxing it open before plunging in and invading the depths of her sweet mouth. She moaned and turned to face him completely, so that he could have better access to her.

Sasuke caught her hips now and pressed her against the kitchen sink.

He released her for a moment so that he could look at her face.

Her mouth was swollen and cherry red from his administrations. Her cheeks were lightly flushed and her green eyes were glazed with passion.

Sasuke smirked inwardly.

He had her right where he _wanted_ her.

Lowering his head, he moved to kiss her again, but this time, she used her hands which were soapy from the dishes, to stop him by pressing against his chest.

She turned her head away and shook it.

"Sasuke-kun, no."

He glared at her now.

"You wanted me to kiss you," he pointed out.

"You're using that to your advantage to have sex," she argued.

Okay, that was true.

Sasuke scowled down at her.

He was seriously pissed off and she could see it. Even though a part of her wanted to cower, she stood strongly about this matter.

"Why the hell are you so adamant about it? We're married. Sex is a normal part of our lives."

She felt his grip on her hips tighten.

Sakura's soapy hands fisted into his black shirt as she braved his ire. She lowered her head from his dark gaze so that she could respond quietly, "A kiss doesn't always need to be about sex. I just want to be treated as a wife, and not a tool for sex. I just want you to kiss me sometimes, to show me a little bit of affection."

She lifted green eyes that had a plea in them, making Sasuke feel like he was looking at a sad, green eyed kitty, "Am I asking too much from you?"

She looked kind of cute when he watched him like that.

He also felt like he would truly be a monster if he denied her what she wanted. Were kisses really _that_ important to her? He supposed they were. It was a special type of intimacy after all.

Letting out a heavy breath, he responded, "You're not," he glared at her again, "but you can't deny us sex. You're not a tool, so stop this ridiculous sex ban."

"Sasuke-kun-"

He lowered his head to her ear so that he could whisper almost menacingly, "You know I won't listen anyway,"

Sakura's cheeks reddened slightly. It was true; he wouldn't.

He could have her right here on the kitchen table if he wanted.

And that was probably what he was aiming for right now.

He gave her tender earlobe a little nibble, making her moan softly.

When he drew back, he stared down at her meaningfully, waiting for her response.

Shyly, she lifted her face to his.

Courageously, she said huskily, "I got your shirt wet, Sasuke-kun. Perhaps you should take it off."

Sasuke smirked then. Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he told her, "I want you to do it."

This earned him the luxury of seeing her face get even redder, to the point of where he could almost see steam coming out from the top of her head.

She obeyed him and caught the ends of his black shirt.

Sasuke liked this.

Acting more like a married couple was more..._relaxing_. There wasn't any tension, there was no stiff atmosphere between them.

Previously, it was their familiarity with each other from over the years that had kept out any sort of awkwardness between them.

Now, after the arguing last night, and their discussion at her parents' home, there was a certain level of comfort between them that Sasuke liked.

Especially since it seemed that they could share more in terms of sex now. He could have her as a more active partner. Before, he was the one who initiated everything. From kisses to caresses, it was all on his part.

He was looking forward to teaching her more.

When Sakura pulled the shirt over his head, she found herself staring at the scars on his body. They were from all his battles.

He was fit, toned with a flat chest and perfect abs.

Unthinkingly, she touched her hand to his where there was a long, slanting line on his breast bone. It was an old scar. She didn't know what fight he got into that he earned it in.

She stiffened, realizing what she was doing, but Sasuke caught her hand and pressed it to his body. He wanted her to touch him more.

Her eyes met his in surprise and they gazed at each other for a long time.

Emerald met obsidian, and for some reason, neither could look away. Slowly, his face lowered to hers, and she lifted her face to his, knowing that they a kiss was to ensue. There faces drew closer slowly, until they were sharing the same breath. Softly, their lips touched, and then-

"Yo!"

The pair nearly jumped out of their skin as they spun around to see Kakashi Hatake sitting on the window sill that Naruto had come through.

Their sensei was smiling beneath his mask.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped.

Didn't these men know how to use a damned door when entering someone's place?!

"What the heck do you want Kakashi?" Sasuke demanded, quite displeased that they had been interrupted.

"Sorry to interrupt you both. Didn't Naruto tell you about the mission?"

"Of course he did!" Sakura responded.

"_What do you mean by a treasure hunt?" Sasuke asked._

"_Well, there's item called 'Moonstone.' It's supposed to be the most beeeeautiful jewel ever crafted and when it's under the moonlight, it glows. It's perfectly round, perfectly smooth and no one really knows what exactly it's made off. Its location is known, but no one has ever been able to reach it."_

"_Why not?" Sakura asked._

"_Too many traps."_

"_So your challenge is to bring back the Moonstone to the Hyuga clan?" Sasuke asked. "Aren't you just doing stuff for them?"_

"_Actually, you're wrong about that. I'll be giving it to Hinata on our wedding day as a gift."_

_Sakura smiled suddenly. _

"_That is kind of sweet. Even if you're endangering your life, it's nice that Hinata will something so special from you. Whenever she sees it, she will know how much effort you put into getting it for her, and she'll know she's loved."_

_There was a special warm look that came to her green eyes when she spoke. _

_Sasuke observed his wife carefully as she spoke, and frowned. _

"_It will be!" Naruto agreed enthusiastically. _

"_So what does this have to do with us?" Sasuke queried. _

_Naruto laughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. _

"_Well, I can bring along anyone with me, so I chose you guys. We're Team 7, the best there is!"_

"_Wait, so you're making us come along with you on a mission where we can all virtually lose our lives?" Sakura demanded._

_Naruto smiled, but there was a serious look to his determined blue eyes. _

"_That won't happen. We're strong." _

_Those few words along spoke volumes of how much faith he had in his comrades._

"_Besides, you can't tell me you guys aren't interested."_

_There was silence for a long moment, until Sakura broke it. _

"_Why did shishou agree?"_

"_Because there's a treasure trove of gold and other jewels in the place where Moonstone is. If we can bring back some, it will be really great. After the War, all villages have been struggling. Everyone's been just getting by, even us. I don't want to see any of our children running around the streets, begging for food, and I don't want that for any of the other villages either. If we get some of that treasure, we can really get a lot done."_

_That was true._

"_So it's an official mission with a personal attachment to it?"_

_Naruto nodded. _

"_What about Kakashi?" _

"_He's already agreed. I wanted Sai to come on board too, but he's already been assigned to another mission. I'm hoping he meets us along the way. So, what do you guys say? It'll be just like old times!"_

_Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. There was a silent agreement between them, meaning that yes, they both wanted to go._

* * *

"Oh? Did he tell you when we would be leaving?" Kakashi pressed.

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, then at their former teacher.

"He didn't," the pink haired female answered.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled, indicated a grin under that mask.

"We leave in an hour."

"Naruto, that idiot!" Sakura snarled.

"Ah, he is thoughtless sometimes. You two better hurry up and get ready. We're to meet at the entrance to the village in forty-five minutes. We'll take fifteen minutes to check through and make sure we have everything," Kakashi instructed. Then, he teasingly added, "There's no time for a quickie,"

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter. Also, thank you so much for the support, for following, favoriting and reviewing.**_


	10. Tears and Smiles

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I have no claim on any of his characters, only the plot of this story.

* * *

**Trust**

**by chickypeg**

**Chapter 10: Tears and Smiles**

* * *

The fact that Sakura smelled very clean, and refreshing, like the pink flower petals she was so aptly named after, did not escape Kakashi's attention.

Oh, he wasn't deliberately being all perverted. Although Sakura was his student, and almost like family to him, he wasn't ignorant of the fact that she was very much a woman now.

And unfortunately for him, his ever observant ways let him know that by the way Sakura's skin had such a healthy luster, and by the sparkle in her pretty green eyes, his former students _did_ indeed have a bit of a er..'quickie'.

It was disturbing for him to see that red mark on his student's neck, as well as the way her mouth seemed so soft and sensual.

He felt like shuddering in disgust because he knew that it was _Sasuke_ who had made her that way. He sort of felt like a father who knew his daughter just had sex.

And that was plain _horrifying_.

But, being Kakashi, he easily hid up his feelings and prayed that something would come along and distract him from his thoughts about his students going at it.

* * *

"I was half expecting Sakura-chan to pummel me for not telling you guys we were leaving so soon," Naruto remarked as he led everyone down a path through the forest. He had his normal cheerful grin on his face as his blue eyes held that special joyful light of his.

Sasuke, to his left, didn't say anything while Sakura was speaking to Kakashi, so she didn't pick up on his words.

However, Sasuke was quite sure that _he_ was the reason why she wasn't in her 'must-kill-Naruto-mode' now.

Great sex did wonders to a woman's mood it seemed.

_After scrambling to get things together, Sakura stepped into the shower to have a leisurely bath. It was here that she tended to spend a lot of time. When the warm water cascaded down her body, cleansing her, she found herself immersed in her thoughts._

_There were thankfully two bathrooms in the house which were fully equipped with showers, tubs and toilets so Sasuke could always use the other one if she took too long. _

_She was aware that he tended to do that sometimes. _

_She released a heavy sigh and lifted her hands to her neck as she tilted her head back and allowed the water to run along her skin._

_She stiffened when she sensed a movement and suddenly, she saw her husband standing in the bathroom, searching through the cabinets, perhaps for some first aid items._

"_W-What are you doing in here? I'm showering!" she cried and pulled the shower curtain around her nude figure._

_Her husband glanced at her. _

"_You were taking too long and the door was unlocked."_

"_B-But-"_

"_Is it really necessary to cover up like that?" he continued as he cocked an eyebrow at the way she had rolled herself up with her shower curtains. _

_Slowly his eyebrow lowered and his eyes darkened, "it's not like I haven't seen any of it before," he added softly._

_In response, she took the detachable head and sprayed it on her husband._

"_Sasuke-kun, you pervert!"_

_Immediately, she regretted her actions, for standing before her now was a soaked Sasuke Uchiha._

_A soaked simmering Sasuke Uchiha._

_A soaked, simmering **hot** Sasuke Uchiha. _

_His clothes clung to his like a second skin, outlining every ridge of muscle on his lithe body. _

_That thick, black hair of his fell further down his shoulders with the weight of the water, and strands pressed against his forehead and partially covered his eyes. _

_Water drops rolled down his skin and slowly, he lifted his face, revealing his red sharingan. Sakura stiffened when she saw it, as his display of his bloodline meant he was not a happy man._

_Maybe the Uchiha sensed that he might frighten his wife for his eyes immediately returned to their dark colour._

_However, he was still an unhappy man. _

_Her husband walked slowly, ever so silently toward her as he stripped off the shirt he had been sleeping in. _

"_S-Sasuke-kun! What are you doing?!" she protested and pulled the curtain around her more tightly. _

"_I'm wet," he responded. _

"_B-B-But-"_

_He shot her a hard look that immediately silenced her. _

_Oh, this was not good!_

_His trousers and briefs went next as he stood in all his naked glory before her. _

_He was so perfectly built, so fit with muscles in all the right places. Battle scars marred his body but in no way disfigured him. If anything, they only gave him a more manly, dangerous sort of look._

_The kind that made women drool and pant._

_And made Sakura blush red like a tomato. _

_Sasuke caught the shower curtain and pulled it from her in one strong movement. She gasped and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling vulnerable to his dark gaze. _

_Especially when she knew what was going to come, given the heat in those black eyes of him._

"_We can't, there isn't time!" she protested as she leaned against wall, away from him. _

_Sasuke stepped into the shower and towered above his wife. He took one hand and pressed on the wall beside her head and leaned over her. _

"_We're showering together to save time and water."_

"_I don't think that's how it goes, Sasuke-kun!" she argued and tried to push him away. _

_But he had already pressed her against the wall, his mouth was already on hers. Try as she might to protest, she eventually surrendered and softened her mouth under his, allowing him to gentle his forceful pressure and kiss her slowly, sensually._

_When he broke off the kiss, he reached behind her take hold of the soap. _

_"We don't have much time," she breathed out. _

_"We have enough time. You just take too long in here," he pointed out and l__athered up his hands with the soap, __which he used to roam all over the body._

_She protested about the time again._

_"I can do it for myself!"_

_"You'll take too long. I'm saving time."_

_And of course she lost all sense of what time even was, as she lost her mind to his heated touches, his sweet caresses, and the desire in his dark eyes._

_Eventually, she found herself with her legs wrapped around his waist as he thrust into her. She cried out, whimpered into his ear, begging more until he gave one final thrust that made her cry out in ultimate ecstasy._

* * *

Sakura blushed when she thought about what happened earlier. Although she had scolded Sasuke lightly about it, she hadn't minded too much.

Of course he had responded to her reprimanding with a, "Hn," before grabbing his backpack and heading out.

She had followed after him and realized that this was the first time since they had married that they would actually be going on a mission together.

It was exciting!

Sure, they had gone on many before, but this would be the first time they were together since getting married.

Unfortunately, Sasuke had taken the liberty of leaving her behind. Maybe she shouldn't find his inconsiderate behaviour unusual, but it was still hurtful.

However, it seemed that he had developed a habit of surprising her because as soon as she stepped outside, she saw him leaning against the wall behind the door with his arms folded.

As this was not an ANBU mission, he was not required to wear the uniform. Instead, he opted for the black shinobi outfit with the long sleeves and orange swirls at the shoulders, and the green Leaf vest.

This was similar to what she wore on, only instead of long trousers, she wore on shorts instead so that her long, fair legs were exposed.

Sakura's green eyes blinked twice.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Did you lock up?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Good. Let's go," he said and leaned off the wall.

They didn't hold hands as they walked out of the village, but they were side by side, at the same pace. It was nice.

It was sort of like the way they were before they were married; comrades.

Only, this time they _were_ man and wife.

It was a little different, but a little bit nice.

* * *

"So why don't you fill us, Naruto?" Kakashi suggested to their Hokage.

They had quickened their pace through the trees now as there was no longer a good path to follow through the forest.

"Moonstone is located around a canyon that has a river and a waterfall. That canyon is supposed to be huge. That place is somewhere dead centre between us and Suna."

"Then we should be getting there tomorrow evening," Sakura said as they were also taking into consideration a night break.

"Yes, that's correct."

"And all we have to do is get the moonstone?" Sasuke questioned.

"And as much gold and jewels we can carry," Naruto answered with a grin, and determined look in his eyes.

"How do you plan on helping the other villagers out with the gold, Naruto? If we're risking our lives to get it, it would have better if they had sent some of their people to assist," Kakashi pointed out.

Naruto shrugged, "'Cause people get stupid with wealth! There isn't a lot going around in the villagers so they might go a little crazy!"

"But there isn't much in Konoha either," Sakura stated.

"That's right, but I know you guys aren't really materialistic!"

Okay, that was quite true.

"Besides, I'm not just gonna give 'em the stuff. Some of their Kage mightn't like that. It would sort of undermine their pride and they might have an unwanted feeling of debt to us. They'll take it because they need it for their people, but they won't like it and might resent us."

"All part of politics, Naruto. Even if you have good intentions, you aren't going to please everyone. I'm glad you realize that," Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement of his words.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Trade it with them. They've all got stuff we need; Suna doesn't have a lot of fresh water, so Gaara worked with some of his people to develop a good structure to pump water into their village from a special reserve. We've got a huge dam that we can use. I want to use some of the gold to get the structure from Gaara, and hire some of his men to build it and train some of people on how to maintain it. It will be more efficient than our current system."

"Whoa, that's smart thinking!" Sakura commented.

Naruto was was pretty dumb sometimes. Or rather, he was sort of oblivious to people's evil. Sure, he knew an enemy when he saw one, he knew better than to trust someone right away, but every person he met he treated like an ally until he had reason to fight them as an enemy.

His good intentions always made him seem a bit naïve, but it was his goodwill toward everyone that made those gears in his head turn.

"What about the other villages?" Sasuke asked.

"They've all got something we need. We'll sort of hire people from the other villages to teach us how to do things, and we'll use whatever gold we find to pay them well," Naruto had a huge smile plastered on his face now as he turned to Sasuke, "and I'll say they did an exceptional job and pay them **twice** as much!"

"Look out, stupid!" Sasuke shouted suddenly.

"Huh?!"

But it was too late; Naruto slammed face first into a tree.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she passed a healing hand over her friend's forehead. He had an egg sized shaped bump on it.

"Naruto, why can't you be more careful?" she chided him.

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"You go off making me proud by saying something smart, and then you get all excited and distracted and something stupid happens!"

"But Sakura-chan, I didn't get it _too_ hard."

"You idiot, it's only because your head's like a rock you didn't get a concussion or something worse!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Just pay better attention next time," she replied as his bump went down under the green chakra that was being emitted from her hand.

Naruto suddenly smiled.

"Can I rest my head on your lap, Sakura-chan?"

Her response was a whack on his head so that he was nursing yet another bump.

"Hinata won't like that, dummy!" she snarled.

Naruto rubbed his head.

"She won't mind! She'll understand my head was hurting and that I-"

Before he could continue, he was suddenly grabbed and his head was pressed against someone's lap. The person wore dark trousers and his thighs certainly did not have the softness of a woman's.

"Huh?" the blonde went as he turned his head upward to see whose lap he was using.

Naruto found himself looking up at Sai's pleasantly smiling face.

"Hey, when did you get here?! And why's my head on your lap?!"

"Sakura-san doesn't seem keen on it so I stepped in. You also said Hinata-san won't mind."

"But_ I_ mind!"

Sai proceeded to gently pass his hand over Naruto's hair. Naruto bristled, like an angry fox.

"Calm down, Naruto. I've read that patting one's head can be very soothing."

"I don't care what you've read, let me up!"

"I've also read that it's good to lie down after getting a nasty hit on the head which did happen."

"Go to hell Sai! I just wanted to spend time with Sakura-chan since the bastard hogs her all the time now!" Naruto turned his head to side on Sai's lap. In his frustration, he finally gave in to Sai's 'kindness'.

"I feel like my sister was stolen from me," he sobbed.

Sakura's heart softened toward their friend. She smiled gently at him, very warmly, although he wasn't paying attention to her to realize it.

Before she could speak to her friend, her husband was in front of her. He had a water bottle in his hand. Silently, he handed it to her.

"We've got to get moving again soon," he informed her.

She nodded and beamed up at her husband after accepting the bottle gratefully. He seemed a little taken aback by her expression, as if he didn't expect it, but lightly patted her head in response before he went off to speak to Kakashi.

Sakura drank from the bottle as she listened to Sai give Naruto a lesson on women, and how he needed to consider that Hinata might feel insecure about his love if he got all touchy and feely with his ex-crush.

The pink haired female giggled quietly, thinking it was funny that Sai, of all people, seemed to actually know so much about human feelings.

* * *

Along the way, Sai had told them that he was returning from his previous mission, and was therefore able to catch up with them on his way back.

He didn't really get along badly with Sasuke, but the two were civil to each other.

About as civil as he could get as he unintentionally said somethings without tack. In his own way, he was a bit oblivious to people's emotions still, even though he did try very hard to understand them.

So, sometimes he could tick off Sasuke, and sometimes, it seemed he did so deliberately. The pale skinned fellow did like to tease his comrades at times.

Sasuke would respond with a glare or a scathing remark, but not bother with him after that.

To Sakura, it was great to have her team-mates together one last time. It would have been nice to have Yamato around too, but he was out on his own assignments.

"You said the reason why no one's been able to get the moonstone is because there's a lot of traps?" Sakura reminded Naruto.

He nodded as they continued moving. It was getting dark and they would need to rest soon.

"I don't know exactly what kind since no one's been able to live to tell the tale of what happened, but it's all we can assume."

"There's a clearing up ahead. We can stop there for the night," Sai informed them.

There was silent agreement as they sped up to the area Sai had suggested.

The small clearing was surrounded by thick trees. They had enough space to light a fire and make a quick stew over it.

They were also able to set up a small tent that was more than large enough to fit one person, but would be a bit tight for two people.

"I don't need to sleep here. You can have it, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura was telling her former teacher as he pulled up the zipper up to enclose her in. The tent was the prism-shaped kind, and was blue in color. There was a straight zip to pull up in the centre of the triangular face of it.

He smiled underneath his mask.

"Now now, you're a female, Sakura."

"You're _older_."

Kakashi didn't bat an eye at her bluntness.

"I'm probably more resilient then. You should take a little rest. We started moving again right after you healed Naruto."

The female glared at her sensei.

"I'm not weak! My chakra can recharge fast enough!"

Kakashi sighed.

"I don't mean it as an insult, Sakura. Can't you let me be a little chivalrous? For old times' sake?" he pressed.

When she was little, he did guard her a lot more than Naruto or Sasuke. She had initially thought it was because she was weaker than the other two, but now a part of her wondered if he was actually being a sort of gentleman?

Who knew if those sort of men existed in the shinobi world?

"We can let Sasuke stay with her," Sai suggested.

She was actually going to sleep earlier than the others because the night before, she hadn't slept well.

Thanks to Sasuke.

"As if! I don't want any hanky-panky between them keeping me up!" Naruto scoffed.

Sakura's face reddened, but Sasuke seemed unbothered as he bit into his stew.

"Hanky-panky?" Sai repeated. The term was new to him.

"Never mind Sai," Naruto said quickly, not wanting to divulge into what exactly he meant.

"I've read that when a person says something, and does not want to explain it is because he or she is uncomfortable talking about it."

"That's true, so it's best to just let it go," Naruto agreed quickly.

"I've also read that when a person displays a degree of discomfort in speaking about a matter regarding another, it could be a clear indication of jealousy, meaning that you envy Sasuke-san and Sakura-san because they can have hanky-panky and you cannot," Sai stated, with a completely straight face and without batting an eyelash.

Naruto choked on his food while Sasuke coughed, possibly hiding up a laugh.

"You bastard! You knew exactly what I meant by 'hanky-panky'!"

Sakura laughed before she allowed Kakashi to zip her into her cozy little spot. She heard her comrades argue, but thoughtfully, they had lowered their voices out of consideration for her. She was glad she got the tent at Kakashi's insistence.

It was small, but it blocked her out from the outside world, and in a way, it would help her to sleep better, as opposed to out there, under the trees.

She closed her eyes, and quickly, sleep overcame her.

* * *

Sasuke had done a bit of patrolling around the area they were staying in, just to be safe. Although this was an official assignment, it was a bit casual and laid back, almost like a trip with a bunch of friends. The need to get the moonstone wasn't pressing, and the gold and jewels were really just a bonus and not necessarily essential.

As such, they weren't in any real danger from any enemies. Still, one couldn't be too certain.

When he neared to their campsite, he was practically ambushed by Naruto who appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

"What's your problem, stupid?" Sasuke demanded as he tried to hide up the fact that his friend had startled him.

Naruto pressed a finger to his lips and motioned for him to be quiet and follow him. Through the darkness, he was led to the clearing.

The fire was slowly dying out so that there were only bright embers and ash remaining. However, the moonlight was strong over the area as the trees did not cover it. The light was enough to reveal the tent under which Sakura was sleeping.

It also showed that the tent was shaking a bit, as if someone was moving inside.

Sasuke frowned. Sakura didn't roll around when she slept, unless she had a nightmare.

This seemed to be the case for she let out a familiar sound of anguish.

Sasuke nodded to Naruto who had pointed to the tent while Sai and Kakashi were sitting up from their sleeping bags, frowning with concern at the troubled kunoichi.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered softly and walked over to his wife's sleeping spot.

He stooped in front of the tent and pulled down the zipper slowly. Inside was revealed his pink haired wife who was shifting around in her sleeping bag.

Cautiously, but smoothly, he entered and reached around to pull the zipper up. He was glad that the tent had that back flap that could close as it would allow him and his wife some privacy.

He was kneeling as he paused to observe his sleeping wife.

Her pink eyebrows were furrowed. Her mouth twisted as she whimpered and turned her head the other direction.

This was a clear indication of distressing dreams.

Then, her voice softly whispered a name:

"Sasuke-kun..."

* * *

Sakura was roused from her sleep when she felt a familiar calloused hand on her arm.

She opened her green eyes slowly and turned her head, only to find Sasuke hovering above her. Her eyed widened when she became startled and the sight of him and she instinctively drew back at his unexpected close proximity.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Her husband was half lying at her side so that his legs were brushing the back of hers. His upper body was leaning over her so that her back was lightly pressed against his hard chest. One of his arms was curved over her head while the hand of the other was still touching her arm.

Dark eyes observed her quietly.

Disregarding the times they had sex, this was the first time they were so..._close_.

"You were having a nightmare," Sasuke stated.

She was surprised by this. However, she did not want to tell him what it was about.

She gave him one of these irritating forced smiles.

"Was I? It's nothing, I'll just go right back to sleep and-"

"Sakura," he cut into her flimsy excuse with a sharp tone. He was clearly annoyed.

She fell silent.

"You said a name. _My_ name."

She was clearly shocked and her emerald eyes showed it. Then, they lowered, as if in shame. She turned the other way so that he wouldn't see the tears that were brimming.

"I was dreaming you were leaving again. You said you were tired of the village. It was more exciting for you when you were with your other team-mates. You didn't want to stay...even when I begged you."

She covered her mouth to stifle the sob that was threatening to come out.

She didn't want to look at her husband. He would probably think her weak, and that her tears were bothersome.

That she was annoying.

Suddenly, she felt him shift behind her. Peeking, she saw that he had moved to lie on his back with his arms behind his head.

She was taken aback with his abrupt movement.

"If I wanted to leave, I would have gone a long time ago. I wouldn't have asked you to marry me either."

Once more, he surprised her.

Cautiously, she turned around and faced him.

Warily, she pointed out, "Didn't you ask me kind of like in a spur of the moment?"

He looked at her now with meaningful obsidian eyes.

"No."

"Huh?"

Sighing, he returned his attention to the tent's ceiling.

"I decided I didn't want anyone else to have you. _Ever_. That means I want you in my life."

_Forever_.

That was the word he didn't speak but she knew that he meant that he wanted her with him for the rest of their lives.

Sakura was surprised.

"But wouldn't you grow tired of me?"

Sasuke shot her a lopsided frown.

"Is your opinion of me so bad?"

Sakura felt her cheeks grow red with embarrassment.

"It's just that you left once before, and-"

"And what? I didn't leave because I grew tired of everyone. I thought the village wasn't enough to help me grow powerful to seek my revenge. I did dream of a good future once, with friendship."

He was looking forward again as he closed his eyes, recalling what had prompted those feelings from him.

All three of members of Team seven had matured in the Forest of Death. Most importantly, they had learned the value of teamwork and treasuring their bonds with each other.

Sasuke had once looked down upon both Sakura and Naruto.

Naruto was this annoying, loudmouthed dimwit.

Sakura was this irritating lovesick girl who followed him around with hearts in her eyes.

But then they came to work together, as team and fought hard to protect each other. Sasuke had found himself valuing these new friends in his life.

He wanted to work more together with them, for when he was with them, the ache, the loneliness of having lost everyone dear to him once, was somehow eased.

He was at peace.

Yet, he had thrown all of that away because he couldn't see it being of any use to him. Friends, he believed, would hold him back.

Bonds would make him put his friendships before his goals and at the time, sacrificing his revenge was not something he could have stomached.

As such, it was a path he needed to walk selfishly alone.

After coming back to Konoha, he found himself valuing his friends once more.

This time, he had told himself that he wouldn't toss aside everything so easily again.

This time, he wanted to hold onto those close to him.

He didn't want to lose them.

Naruto would always be his best friend, even if they acted otherwise.

Even if Naruto got married to Hinata, the blonde idiot would still be his best friend.

But if Sakura got married to someone else, would they still be so close?

Could he send for her in the middle of the night to treat his wounds because she was the only girl who didn't melt like butter at the sight of his scarred, lithe body?

Could he walk side by side with her, have her attention solely on him, when there was a husband lurking somewhere in the background?

Could they go on missions and be so comfortable with each other, if there was another man in Sakura's mind?

In her heart?

Sharing that sexy body of hers?

Oh, that was just a big **N-O** for Sasuke Uchiha!

He had wanted her, and he didn't want anyone else to have her either.

"I want a good future, and I wanted you in it too, so I married you. I won't do something so irresponsible and abandon you."

She didn't say it, but it was clearly written in her watery green eyes:

_'But you did it once before...'_

She lowered her head slightly, but Sasuke reached over with his hand that was closest to her, and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him.

There was a gleam in his dark eyes as he informed her in a dead serious tone, "Your name is Sakura _Uchiha_. Even if my clan ended in a bloody way, Uchihas don't abandon their family."

There was an underlying severe warning in his words: he was telling her that it would be a great insult for her to believe that he would leave her again. She was his wife now, not simply a friend or comrade anymore.

This gave her a whole new meaning and standing in his life.

Sasuke released her and turned the other way.

"Go to sleep," he ordered with a sigh, believing he got the point through to her.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura voiced his name as she shifted behind him.

"What?" he asked, irritated. He wanted to sleep now too and didn't want to be disturbed.

He was startled when he felt a warm pair of lips touch his cheek.

He looked at his wife who was leaning over him.

"Thank you," she told him with a cheerful smile.

"Hn," he grunted and turned away to hide the light redness of his cheeks.

However, Sakura seemed to realize it, even in the dark.

She lost her smile and her green eyes blinked.

"Oh? Sasuke-kun? Do you like it when I kiss your cheek?"

Sasuke scowled as his cheeks grew redder. It was dark, so Sakura clearly couldn't see it. However, she was learning to observe certain aspects of Sasuke's behaviour that were quite telling of his feelings.

And what she learned just now was that he seemed to be a bit of a _tsundere_.

Daringly, she leaned pressed her hand on his hard bicep and leaned over to kiss him again. Her pink hair brushed his cheek as she did so and she could almost feel his skin grow warmer under her mouth.

He lifted his hand and tried to bat her off like a bug.

"Stop it," he grumbled.

Although she was giggling on the inside, Sakura said with a bit of a disappointed tone, "Oh, I guess you don't like it then," and moved to lie on her back.

Sasuke tsked and shifted so he was on his side again, watching her.

"I don't dislike it," he confessed. In his desire to not see her hurt again, he failed to realize that she was playing around with him.

Sakura pretty mouth curved upward.

"Can I kiss you again?"

He sighed and gave a slight nod.

She leaned over and kissed one cheek. He felt her hair touch his nose as she shifted to the other. She drew back, as if wary that maybe she was overdoing it. However, seeing as he kept watching her silently and not shoving her off, she gave him a sweet one on his forehead, then his nose. Sakura's next location was his temple, but he caught the back of her head and forced her mouth onto his, and forcefully thrust his tongue past her lips and stroked it against her own.

Then, he released her, leaving her out of breath.

"Keep that up, and I'll have you right here, right now where everyone's sleeping," he growled.

Sakura swallowed hard.

Meekly, she nodded, not wanting to wake up that lustful beast inside of him. Sasuke lowered his arm so that it was stretched out.

"Go to sleep now," he ordered on a gentler tone.

Sakura nodded again and settled down to lie on her back.

"I'll sleep better now," she assured him softly.

He responded by giving her hair a little stroke.

* * *

Sasuke released a heavy sigh as he leaned on his elbow and observed his sleeping wife.

It wasn't like he didn't know anything about intimacy. He did grow up with love and affection from his mother and brother.

He just hadn't experienced it in such a long time that it felt strange and awkward to touch someone so much with some sort of tenderness.

Yet, when he thought back on it, touching Sakura hadn't been an issue when they were genin.

To protect her, he willingly grabbed her into his arms and took her out of danger. They had even reached a level of trust that was so deep while in the Forest of Death, that he had willingly taken her hand into his own and helped her up.

He hadn't given a second thought to what he had been doing back then, for he had come to care for her, and Naruto a lot. Their experiences during that time had taught him a lot personally.

And most importantly, it had taught him to treasure his comrades. He had come to think of them as friends.

But he had thrown it all away and left everyone behind.

Including Sakura.

He made her cry a lot. He recalled the tears she had shed for him the night he had left, the fact that her face had been stained with them as she attempted to kill him years later.

How many more had dripped down her pretty face since then?

Even after marriage, he had caused her hurt and upset.

As Sasuke's thoughts began to sink in, he felt a sense of regret come over him for all the things he had done to emotionally harm her over the years.

Yet through it all, she had emerged to become an amazing kunoichi, braving disaster, danger and loss of comrades.

She was a kind person and she had a good heart. Not many people were blessed with someone like her in their lives.

Sasuke took a few short strands of her pink hair between his fingertips and rubbed them gently. Her hair was soft and they felt like flower petals. He released her hair and trailed his fingers onto her face where he gently stroked her cheek.

His eyebrows lifted slightly when her sweet mouth gradually moved into a tiny smile.

A cute sort of smile.

His obsidian eyes blinked, and his own features softened.

Truthfully, he loved his wife's smile.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! And thanks so much for all the support!**

**Also, to everyone who took the time to help me out with the Japanese word for 'father-in-law' and how one refers to their father-in-law, thank you so much! Sacchan-Orange Juice (a passer-by left a response for you in the reviews), the two Guest reviewers, a-passerby, thanks so much, but now I am hopelessly confused! Thank you still for taking the time to try to help me!**

**So, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. **

**God bless!**


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